Hawk / Falcon / Blood Hawk

Swift daylight raptors found from the tropics to the cold north, hawks and their smaller cousins the falcons hunt vermin, rodents, and small birds across open ground. Sharp-eyed and quick, they kill by folding their wings and plummeting from on high, driving razor talons into prey with the full force of the dive. Most are no threat to a grown person and are welcomed by farmers for thinning pests; falcons, lighter and nimbler, are the favourites of hunters. The rare blood hawk is another matter: a grey, heavily muscled killer that gathers in flocks, harries far larger creatures, and lines its nest with bright gems and bone. All three can be trained well if caught young.