hen-hawk

English

Noun

hen-hawk (plural hen-hawks)

1. (informal) Any hawk supposed to prey on poultry.
   • 1911, Anna Botsford Comstock, Handbook of Nature Study, 24th edition, published 1939, page 108:

     The ordinary large reddish "hen hawks," which circle high above meadows, are doing great good to the farmer by feeding upon the mice and other creatures which steal his grain and girdle his trees.

Derived terms

• blue hen-hawk