Hawk Clipart

Hawks are birds of prey that belong to the family Accipitridae. There are over 60 different species of hawks found on every continent except Antarctica. Hawks are carnivorous hunters that feed on small mammals, other birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. They occupy an array of habitats including forests, deserts, grasslands, and wetlands. Hawks are diurnal, meaning they are most active during the day.

Hawks have excellent eyesight to help them spot potential prey from high vantage points. They exhibit a range of hunting strategies from still-hunting perched on a tree branch, to circling high on a thermal air current searching the ground, to fast diving swoops with lethal precision. Hawks demonstrate superb aerial agility and speed thanks to their large, broad wings and streamlined bodies.

Physical Characteristics of Hawks

Hawks vary considerably in size and shape across the different species. They range from small (sparrowhawk) to large (red-tailed hawk). Most hawks have broad wings and round or fanned tails to provide aerodynamic lift and control in flight. Their tapered, narrow wings allow them to dive swiftly to grasp prey.

All hawks possess strong feet equipped with sharp, curved talons used for hunting, killing prey, and lifting. They have a short, sharp, hooked beak adept at tearing flesh. Hawks tend to have large eyes relative to their head size with excellent vision to detect prey movement from far distances.

A hawk’s feathers feature a range of patterns and colors like brown, red, white, or gray. The coloration provides concealment when nesting and camouflage when hunting. Only the female hawk tends to be noticeably larger than the male.

Hunting and Feeding Behaviors

Hawks employ a range of hunting techniques based on their habitat and prey availability. A common method is perch-hunting where a hawk will stealthily scan for prey while stationed on an elevated perch like a tree branch, pole, or wire. Once spotted, it will swoop down to seize the prey in its talons using surprise and speed.

Other hawks soar on thermals – warm, rising air currents – allowing them to conserve energy and cover vast territories in search of food. Once prey is observed below, they will rapidly dive downwards to strike. Some hawks chase prey on rapid, low flights through dense vegetation.

Hawks typically feed on small mammals (squirrels, mice, rabbits, etc.), other birds, reptiles like lizards and snakes, amphibians, and insects. The red-tailed hawk has a diverse diet ranging from rodents to fish and mollusks. After killing prey with its talons, a hawk will use its beak to tear flesh into bites and consume the meat.

Hawk Species

There are many hawk species filling ecological niches across diverse landscapes. The widespread red-tailed hawk occupies open country habitats including deserts, grasslands, and scrublands throughout North and Central America. Its distinctive reddish tail gives it its common name. The red-shouldered hawk frequents mixed woodlands often found perched on a forest edge scout for prey. The boldly-patterned Harris’s hawk lives in arid, open habitats and is unique for hunting in social packs.

The small sharp-shinned hawk and larger northern goshawk both are adaptation forest-dwellers that use quick, agile flight to weave through dense vegetation and capture songbirds. The impressive Ferruginous hawk specializes in hunting small mammals like ground squirrels on open grasslands and shrublands of the interior West. The graceful, broad-winged Swainson’s hawk migrates annually from western North America all the way to Argentina.

Hawks as Symbols

Across many cultures and societies, the hawk symbolizes key virtues like courage, strength, focus, nobility, and valor owing to their formidable hunting abilities. Ancient Egyptian culture linked the hawk to royalty and the sun god Horus. Hawks were viewed as messengers that provided a bridge between the supernatural realm and the earthly realm by some Native Americans tribes.

In Greek mythology, hawks were considered a favored messenger and companion to the gods. The hawk serves as a revered symbol of tribal heritage for many Native Americans. Hawks are still used in modern logos seeking to depict leadership, vision, power, and guardianship.

Hawk Mythology and Folklore

As skillful hunters with keen sight and graceful flight, hawks have made their way into myths and folklore across many civilizations. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics use the hawk to represent their sun god, Horus. Some Native American tales present the hawk as a messenger or harbinger of visitors. The hawk features in Greek and Roman myths as a messenger favored by the ruling god Zeus and god Jupiter.

Across Europe during the medieval period, hawks symbolized nobility and prestige. Myth tells of king Arthur transforming into a hawk to lead men in battle. Traditional Asian folklore presents hawks as protectors serving as the guardian for the gates of heaven. The hawk is hailed in African tribes for its sharp vision that can see both the visible world and the invisible spirit world around us.

Hawking (Sport)

The practice of falconry appears across many ancient cultures that aimed to hunt wild prey like rabbits, foxes, and small mammals for food and sport using trained hawks or falcons. The sport became popular across medieval Europe and Asia where a hawk was a coveted hunting companion reserved for noble classes. Captive breeding helped supplement dwindling wild raptor populations.

Using intelligence and food rewards, hawks can be trained for months to successfully hunt in partnership with a human handler. The historic sport continues today both recreationally and competitively. Special permits and equipment are still required owing to conservation laws given threats to numerous raptor species. Some argue falconry helps promote ongoing raptor and ecosystem conservation efforts.

Hawk Conservation

While some hawk species like red-tailed and red-shouldered hawk remain numerous across North America today, many others now face population decline and range loss. As predators high on the food chain, hawks serve as important environmental indicators regarding ecosystem health. Among the major threats are habitat loss as development and land conversion shrink the extent of native hawk habitats.

Prey base depletion, human activity disturbances, illegal poaching/shooting, lead poisoning, and collisions with cars/wind farms also jeopardize hawk survival. As a result, species like the ferruginous hawk and northern goshawk are closely monitored. Public education and continued legislation efforts emphasizing proper land management helping conserve local hawk populations remain a key priority today.

Hawks in Popular Culture

The regal, powerful hawk has made many symbolic appearances in countries’ coats of arms, sports team names and mascots, company logos, comic books, video games, movies, and animated films over the years. The Atlanta Hawks basketball team uses a fierce hawk with spread wings as their logo. Red-tailed hawks are sometimes featured on wildlife cams capturing live urban hawks nesting.

Cultural references appear in movies like “Star Wars”, “The Outlaw Josey Wales”, and “Avatar”. Fictional superheroes named after hawks include DC comics heroes Hawk and Hawkgirl who fight injustice. Cartoon hawk depictions include Disney’s “The Rescuers” and Looney Tunes’ “Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid”.

Hawk Clipart and Illustrations

Given the widespread cultural fascination with hawks, all manner of hawk clipart, vector images, illustrations, and digital artwork can be found online across stock image and photo websites. These include more realistic illustrations of specific hawk species in various poses alongside more stylistic or cartoon hawk designs.

In this page clipartix present 60 hawk clipart images free for designing activities. Lets download Hawk Clipart that you want to use for works or personal uses.