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.
hawk
Sperber and Habicht both refer to agile birds of prey. The Sperber is small to medium-sized and particularly specialized in hunting small birds. The Habicht is medium-sized and can be recognized, among other features, by its short, broad wings and long tail.
Der kleine wendige Greifvogel, der am Futterplatz Kleinvögel jagte, war ein Sperber.
The small, agile bird of prey hunting small birds at the feeding station was a sparrowhawk.
Der mittelgroße Greifvogel mit kurzen breiten Flügeln und langem Schwanz war ein Habicht.
The medium-sized bird of prey with short, broad wings and a long tail was a hawk.
