Blood Hawk

Small Magical Beast
Hit Dice: 1d10 (5 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 10 ft. (2 squares), fly 80 ft. (average)
Armor Class: 16 (+1 size, +3 Dex, +2 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +1/–⁠2
Attack: Claw +5 melee (1d3+1)
Full Attack: 2 claws +5 melee (1d3+1) and bite +0 melee (1d4)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Wounding
Special Qualities: Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +1
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 16, Con 11, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 7
Skills: Hide +5, Listen +2, Search –⁠3, Spot +2; racial bonuses
Feats: Weapon Finesse
Environment: Any forest, hill, plains, and mountains
Organization: Solitary or murder (3–12)
Challenge Rating: ½
Treasure: 50% goods (gems only)
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: 2–3 HD (Medium)
Level Adjustment:

Blood hawks are fierce, carnivorous predators. They pose a danger to any creature that wanders into the territory they claim as their own. They take joy in the hunt, and often a murder of blood hawks attacks even if all its members have fed well and recently.

A blood hawk measures about 3 feet from the tip of its cruelly hooked beak to the end of its tail feathers, and an adult has a wingspan of roughly 7 feet. Its feathers are a dull gray color, and its eyes are the same bright red as the fresh blood the creature craves.

Some experts believe that blood hawks are related to other birds of prey. However, their hunger for fresh flesh and blood is distinctly unlike more mundane aerial carnivores.

Combat

Blood hawks are nearly always encountered in large groups of hunting adults, although young adults are sometimes encountered alone if they have recently left the murder into which they were born. They attack almost anything living until slain themselves; once under the influence of blood lust, a blood hawk does not flee. The birds prefer the taste of human flesh to all others and tend to single out humans if confronted with a racially diverse group.

Wounding (Ex): A wound resulting from a blood hawk’s claw or bite attack bleeds for an additional 1 point of damage per round thereafter. Multiple wounds from such attacks result in cumulative bleeding loss (two wounds for 2 points of damage per round, and so on). The bleeding can be stopped only by a Heal check (DC 15) or the application of any cure spell or other healing spell (heal, healing circle, or the like).

Skills: Blood hawks have a +8 racial bonus on Spot checks during daylight.

Advancement for Blood Hawks

Some blood hawks have an extremely strong desire to gain victory over their foes. When a blood hawk advances to become a creature with more than 1 Hit Die, it gains the special quality called ferocity.

Ferocity (Ex): A blood hawk is such a tenacious combatant that it continues to fight without penalty even while disabled or dying.

Source: Fiend Folio, page 23. Changes applied as per the D&D® v.3.5 Accessory Update.