The red beak is the safety end of the hook (see video clip: "Nothing Slides Off The Beak!"). It's there to keep whatever you're lifting up -- or putting down -- from sliding off the end of the hook. It's red so you can use it as a sightline to easily judge distance and location when doing a lift or retrieval (we're trying to call a "retrieval" a "get" because you're going to "get" whatever it is -- so far it's not catching on).