''Accipiter'' () is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

in the family

Accipitridae The Accipitridae () is one of the four families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds of prey with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects ...

. Some species are called

sparrowhawk Sparrowhawk (sometimes sparrow hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the subfamily Accipitrinae The Accipitrinae are the Family (biology), subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks. The subfamily contains 73 s ...

s, but there are many sparrowhawks in other genera such as '' Tachyspiza''. These birds are slender with short, broad, rounded wings and a long tail which helps them maneuver in flight. They have long legs and long, sharp talons used to kill their prey, and a sharp, hooked bill used in feeding. Females tend to be larger than males. They often ambush their prey, mainly small birds and mammals, capturing them after a short chase. The typical flight pattern is a series of flaps followed by a short glide. They are commonly found in wooded or shrubby areas. The

''Accipiter'' was introduced by the French zoologist

Mathurin Jacques Brisson Mathurin Jacques Brisson (; 30 April 1723 – 23 June 1806) was a French zoologist and natural philosophy, natural philosopher. Brisson was born on 30 April 1723 at Fontenay-le-Comte in the Vendée department of western France. Note that page 14 ...

in 1760. The type species is the

Eurasian sparrowhawk The Eurasian sparrowhawk (''Accipiter nisus''), also known as the northern sparrowhawk or simply the sparrowhawk, is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barred ...

(''Accipiter nisus''). The name is

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "hawk", from ''accipere'', "to grasp".

Procoracoid foramen

The procoracoid

foramen In anatomy and osteology, a foramen (; : foramina, or foramens ; ) is an opening or enclosed gap within the dense connective tissue (bones and deep fasciae) of extant and extinct amniote animals, typically to allow passage of nerves, artery, ...

(or coracoid foramen, coracoid fenestra) is a hole through the process at the front of the

coracoid A coracoid is a paired bone which is part of the shoulder assembly in all vertebrates except therian mammals (marsupials and placentals). In therian mammals (including humans), a coracoid process is present as part of the scapula, but this is n ...

bone, which accommodates the supracoracoideus nerve. In some groups of birds it may be present as a notch, or ''incisura''; or the notch may be partially or weakly closed with bone. In other groups the feature is completely absent. The foramen is generally present in birds of prey, but it is absent in most ''Accipiter'' hawks that have been studied. This absence is proposed as a diagnostic feature. A study of accipitrid skeletons found procoracoid incisurae (as opposed to foramina) in some specimens of the eagles ''Aquila gurneyi'' and ''A. chrysaetos'', but not in four other ''Aquila'' species. The notch was variably open or weakly ossified in ''Spizastur melanoleucos'', ''Lophoaetus occipitalis'', ''Spizaetus ornatus'', and ''Stephanoaetus coronatus''. Also the buteonine hawks ''Buteo brachyurus'' and ''B. hemilasius'' had incisurae, differing from 17 other ''Buteo'' species. In ''Circus'' the foramen was found to be variable, not only within species but even between sides in the same individual. It is usually open or absent but may be closed by "a thread of bone". Research in genetic phylogeny has since indicated that ''Circus'' is closely related to ''Accipiter''. The notch was also absent or indistinct in ''Harpagus bidentatus''. ''Urotriorchis macrourus'' has a well-developed procoracoid foramen, which suggests a separation from ''Accipiter''. It may be related to the chanting goshawks in tribe Melieraxini.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Accipiter'' formerly contained around 50 species. A series of

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies found that the traditional arrangement was non-

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

. The publication of a densely sampled study of the

in 2024 allowed the generic boundaries to be redefined. To create monophyletic genera, species were moved from ''Accipiter'' to five new or resurrected genera leaving only 9 species in ''Accipiter''. The southeast Asian crested goshawk and the Sulawesi goshawk were found to be only distantly related to other species in ''Accipiter''. They were moved to a resurrected genus '' Lophospiza'', the only genus placed in the new

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Lophospizinae. Similarly, the very small south America tiny hawk and semicollared hawk were found to be only distantly related to species in ''Accipiter''. They were moved to a newly erected genus '' Microspizias'' which together with '' Harpagus'' is placed in the subfamily Harpaginae. The genera ''

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...

'', '' Megatriorchis'', and '' Erythrotriorchis'' were found to be nested within ''Accipiter''. Rather than subsuming these genera into an expanded ''Accipiter'', species were moved from ''Accipiter'' to the resurrected genera '' Aerospiza'', '' Tachyspiza'' and '' Astur''.

List of ''Accipiter'' species

There are 9 species in the ''Accipiter'' genus.

Notes

References

External links

* ttp://www.mikosanat.com/kus/atmaca/atmaca.html Accipiter Photos {{Authority control Bird genera True hawks Taxa named by Mathurin Jacques Brisson