Dr. Rif`at Fawzi, professor of Shari`ah at Cairo Univ., states that: As recorded in Al-Bukhari’s Sahih (authentic book), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the eating of any wild animals with a canine tooth and of any bird with talons.

“Wild animals” denotes predatory animals, namely, lion, leopard, wolf, and the like. The examples of birds with talons are the hawk, eagle, falcon, etc.. Thus, any bird that has talons is unlawful to eat; which means that birds that have no talons are edible.

Some scholars hold that what is prohibited is every wild animal with a canine tooth, and not birds with talons. However, the view held by the majority of scholars is that it is haram (unlawful) to eat any animal with a canine tooth or a bird with talon.