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Accipiter

(Genus)

Overview

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The genus Accipiter is a group of in the family Accipitridae, many of which are named as goshawks and sparrowhawks.

These birds are slender with short broad rounded wings and a long tail which helps them manoeuvre 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 it 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.

Species in Taxonomic Order

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An Accipiter was seen on 12 March 1994 south of the summit of Camiguin in the Philippines, where the genus was not known to occur. It may have been an undescribed taxon, but mo re likely it was not; it could simply have been a vagrant of a known species.[1]

Photos

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Taxonomy

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The Genus Accipiter is further organized into finer groupings including:

References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Balete et al. (2006), Heaney & Tabaranza (2006)

Sources

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Last Revised: January 24, 2010
2010/01/24 05:26:35