''Pseudastur'' is a genus of

bird 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 h ...

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 ...

. It contains the following species:

Systematics

The name ''Pseudastur'' was coined by

Edward Blyth Edward Blyth (23 December 1810 – 27 December 1873) was an English zoologist who worked for most of his life in India as a curator of zoology at the museum of the Asiatic Society of India in Calcutta. Blyth was born in London in 1810. In 1841 ...

, but was first published in

George Robert Gray George Robert Gray FRS (8 July 1808 – 6 May 1872) was an English zoologist and author, and head of the ornithological section of the British Museum, now the Natural History Museum, in London for forty-one years. He was the younger brother o ...

's Index. The type species is the white hawk, ''Falco albicollis'' Latham, 1790. The species were placed for some time in the genus ''

Leucopternis ''Leucopternis'' is a Neotropical genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. They are associated with tropical forest, and are uncommon or rare. Their plumage is largely black or gray above and white below, and they have distinctive orang ...

'', however this genus was found to be polyphyletic. In 2012 the American Ornithologists' Union split Leucopternis, placing the white hawk and its relatives under the old name ''Pseudaster''.

References

External links

* * * Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the Neotropics Taxa named by Edward Blyth {{Accipitriformes-stub