Accipiter

accipiter, (genus Accipiter), any of approximately 50 species of bird hawks (hawks that prey particularly on other birds) that make up the bird genus Accipiter, the largest genus of birds of prey, in the family Accipitridae. Sometimes accipiters are referred to as the “true” hawks. They have broad short wings and comparatively long legs and tail. They range in length from the little sparrowhawk (A. minullus) of Africa, at about 20 cm (about 7.9 inches) from bill tip to tail tip, which is slightly larger than a thrush, to the northern goshawk (A. gentilis), at about 60 cm (2 feet).

Some taxonomies place accipiters and their relatives in the family Accipitridae in the order Falconiformes, along with falcons. Most taxonomies, however, separate hawks—together with eagles, kites, vultures, ospreys, and secretary birds—from falcons, placing the former in the order Accipitriformes, in which accipiters, eagles, and kites make up the family Accipitridae.

Accipiters occur in forested areas throughout the world. They build soft-lined nests of sticks in tall trees. The three to five brown-blotched white eggs are incubated for four to five weeks by the female. The young fledge after five or six weeks.