sparrow hawk

noun

a small, short-winged European hawk, Accipiter nisus, that preys on smaller birds.

American kestrel.

Origin of sparrow hawk

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sparrow hawk

The sparrow-hawk, like the small falcons, requires small birds.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2|Various
In these larch and spruce-fir woods, many old nests of the Sparrow-hawk might be seen, the deserted tenements of years and years.
Among the Birds in Northern Shires|Charles Dixon
The Sparrow-hawk is a larger and fiercer bird, and the one that preys most frequently on chickens.
Mamma's Stories about Birds|Anonymous (AKA the author of "Chickseed without Chickweed")
When there was occasion to select a symbol, he effaced himself and chose the eagle; modesty of a sparrow-hawk!
Napoleon the Little|Victor Hugo

The sparrow-hawk is hooded, while the goshawk is not, being of a less excitable nature.
Jungle Folk|Douglas Dewar

British Dictionary definitions for sparrow hawk

sparrow hawk

noun

a very small North American falcon, Falco sparverius, that is closely related to the kestrels

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

sparrow hawk

noun

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Origin of sparrow hawk

Examples from the Web for sparrow hawk

sparrow hawk

noun