sparrowhawk
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sparrowhawk
A small to medium-sized, agile bird of prey that is specialized mainly in hunting small birds.
Plötzlich schoss ein Sperber vom Himmel herab und griff sich eine Taube.
Suddenly, a sparrowhawk shot down from the sky and snatched a pigeon.
The idiom 'Augen haben wie ein Sperber' (to have eyes like a sparrowhawk) means that someone can see very well and misses nothing. It refers to the sharp eyes of this bird of prey.
Dem Lehrer entgeht kein Fehler, er hat Augen wie ein Sperber.
The teacher doesn't miss a single mistake; he has eyes like a sparrowhawk.
'Sperber' (sparrowhawk) is often combined with verbs of hunting and movement in the air. Typical phrases are 'der Sperber jagt' (the sparrowhawk hunts), 'der Sperber kreist' (the sparrowhawk circles), or 'der Sperber schlägt' (the sparrowhawk strikes, in the sense of capturing prey).
Wir sahen, wie ein Sperber über dem Feld kreiste.
We saw a sparrowhawk circling over the field.
'Sperber' (sparrowhawk) is a specific term found mainly in the context of nature, biology, or birdwatching. It is not a word you hear every day unless you are interested in this topic.
Der Ornithologe erklärte uns die Unterschiede zwischen Sperber und Falke.
The ornithologist explained the differences between sparrowhawks and falcons to us.
falcon / hawk
'der Falke' and 'der Sperber' are both birds of prey, so they are easy to confuse. A falcon is known above all for very fast hunting flights and usually has pointed wings. A sparrowhawk is rather small to medium-sized, very agile, and often hunts small birds, for example in gardens or at the edge of the forest. If you only mean a bird of prey in general, you should be careful. For the exact bird species, you need the right characteristics.
Im Garten flog ein Sperber zwischen den Bäumen hindurch und jagte kleine Vögel.
In the garden, a sparrowhawk flew between the trees and hunted small birds.
Über dem Feld kreiste ein Falke, bevor er plötzlich nach unten stürzte.
A falcon circled above the field before suddenly diving downward.