Illustration of sparrow hawk
- sparrow hawk a
sparrow hawk
noun
: any of various small hawks: such as
a
: an Old World accipiter (Accipiter nisus) that is dark gray to blackish above with the female having a grayish-brown barred underside and the male having a chestnut barred underside
b
Examples of sparrow hawk in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Seconds later, a sparrow hawk swooped in; all of the tits had escaped safely.
—
Rivka Galchen,
The New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2024
For example, in the Netherlands, the Eurasian sparrow hawk has been late for dinner because its prey, the blue tit, has -- over 16 years -- arrived almost six days earlier than the hawk.
—
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2018
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Rivka Galchen,
The New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2024
For example, in the Netherlands, the Eurasian sparrow hawk has been late for dinner because its prey, the blue tit, has -- over 16 years -- arrived almost six days earlier than the hawk.
—
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Sparrow hawk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sparrow%20hawk. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
