''Accipiter'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...

in the family

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

. With 51 recognized species it is the most diverse genus in its family. Most species are called

goshawk Goshawk may refer to several species of birds of prey, mainly in the genus ''Accipiter'': * Northern goshawk, ''Accipiter gentilis'', often referred to simply as the goshawk, since it is the only goshawk found in much of its range (in Europe and N ...

s or

sparrowhawk Sparrowhawk (sometimes sparrow hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the genus ''Accipiter''. "Sparrow-hawk" or sparhawk originally referred to ''Eurasian sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus'', now called "Eurasian" or "northern" sparrowha ...

s, although almost all New World species (excepting the

northern goshawk The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of prey, raptor in the Family (biology), family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier (bird) ...

) are simply known as hawks. They can be

anatomic Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

ally distinguished from their relatives by the lack of a procoracoid

foramen In anatomy and osteology, a foramen (;Entry "foramen"
in

. Two small and aberrant species usually placed here do possess a large procoracoid foramen and are also distinct as regards

DNA sequence DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Th ...

. They may warrant separation in the old genus ''Hieraspiza''.Olson (2006) Extant accipiters range in size from the

little sparrowhawk The little sparrowhawk (''Accipiter minullus'') is a species of Afrotropical bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is the smallest member of the genus ''Accipiter'' and forms a superspecies with the red-thighed sparrowhawk (''Accipiter ery ...

(''A. minullus''), in which the smallest males measure long, span across the wings and weigh , to the

(''A. gentilis''), in which the largest females measure long, span across the wings, and weigh . 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 philosopher. Brisson was born at Fontenay-le-Comte. The earlier part of his life was spent in the pursuit of natural history; his published works ...

in 1760 with 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'') as the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

. The name is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

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

Procoracoid foramen

The procoracoid

foramen In anatomy and osteology, a foramen (;Entry "foramen"
in

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

coracoid A coracoid (from Greek κόραξ, ''koraks'', raven) 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 prese ...

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.

Genetic phylogeny

Analysis of molecular genetics indicates that ''Accipiter'' is

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

to the ''Circus'' harriers, even though the two groups differ in hunting habits and body shape. There are three or four

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

s of ''Accipiter'', with ''Circus'', ''Megatriorchis'' and ''Erythrotriorchis'' intermixed. John Boyd proposes splitting ''Accipiter'' into four separate genera: '' Aerospiza'', '' Tachyspiza'', ''Accipiter'', and ''

Astur The Astures or Asturs, also named Astyrs, were the Hispano-Celtic language, Hispano-Celtic inhabitants of the northwest area of Hispania that now comprises almost the entire modern autonomous community of Principality of Asturias, the modern prov ...

''.His species-level arrangement is based on: Wink and Sauer-Gürth (2004), Breman et al. (2013), Barrowclough et al. (2014), Nagy and Tökölyi (2014) and Kocum (2006) In this scheme ''Tachyspiza'' has the most species, and a reduced ''Accipiter'' would have only six: Eurasian sparrowhawk (''A. nisus'', type species), rufous-breasted sparrowhawk (''A. rufiventris''), sharp-shinned hawk (''A. striatus''), white-breasted hawk (''A. chionogaster''), plain-breasted hawk (''A. ventralis''), rufous-thighed hawk (''A. erythronemius''). * Tribe Accipitrini ** (group 1) *** ''

Erythrotriorchis ''Erythrotriorchis'' is a genus of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It contains the following species: * Chestnut-shouldered goshawk (''Erythrotriorchis buergersi'') * Red goshawk (''Erythrotriorchis radiatus'') Etymology "Erythro-" i ...

'' *** ''Aerospiza'' *** ''Tachyspiza'' ** (group 2) *** ''Accipiter'' *** (group 2a) **** '' Megatriorchis'' **** ''Astur'' **** ''

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 unicyclist ...

'' ***** harriers ***** swamp-harriers

List of ''Accipiter'' species

There are 49 species in the ''Accipiter'' genus.

Extinct species

* Powerful goshawk, ''Accipiter efficax'' * Gracile goshawk, ''Accipiter quartus''

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