The head is long and narrow compared to that of other kinds of sea turtles and it has a narrow hawk-like beak, for which it was named. Hawksbills are denizens of coral reefs and rocky areas, shallow costal areas and lagoons. They are found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas. Specimens sometimes wash ashore dead or entangled in fishing nets, lines, or in onion bags, along the Texas Coast. A sizeable nesting population exists on coasts of Campeche and Yucatan, Mexico.
Hawksbills feed primarily on sponges.
This accounts for their close association with coral reef and rock formations. This species nests every second or third year. The hatchlings of this species, like those of other sea turtles, may float among rafts of sargassum. Fingernail like material, or scutes, cover the body shell. Most of the bekko originates from Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean Islands.