The slender, somewhat flattened profile of the hawksbill gives it a streamlined appearance. The upper shell has a beautiful rich reddish brown or dark brown mottling. 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.