Accipitrinae

The Accipitrinae are the subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks, including all members of Accipiter and the closely related genera Microspizias, Erythrotriorchis, and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread genus Accipiter includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, the sharp-shinned hawk and others. They are primarily woodland birds that hunt by sudden dashes from a concealed perch, with long tails, broad wings and high visual acuity facilitating this lifestyle. In light of recent genetic research, the kites of the traditional subfamily Milvinae may also belong to this group. Hawks, including the accipitrines, are believed to have vision several times sharper than humans, in part because of the great number of photoreceptor cells in their retinas (up to 1,000,000 per square mm, against 200,000 for humans), a very high number of nerves connecting the receptors to the brain, and an indented fovea, which magnifies the central portion of the visual field. Subfamily Accipitrinae Genus Accipiter African goshawk, A. tachiro Besra, A. virgatus Bicolored hawk, A. bicolor Black sparrowhawk, A. melanoleucus Brown goshawk, A. fasciatus Chestnut-flanked sparrowhawk, A. castanilius Chinese sparrowhawk, A. soloensis Christmas goshawk, Accipiter fasciatus natalis Collared sparrowhawk, A. cirrocephalus Cooper's hawk, A. cooperii Crested goshawk, A. trivirgatus Dwarf sparrowhawk, A. nanus Eurasian sparrowhawk, A. nisus Fiji goshawk, A. rufitorques Frances's sparrowhawk, A. francesii Grey goshawk, A. novaehollandiae Grey-bellied hawk, A. poliogaster Grey-headed goshawk, A. poliocephalus Gundlach's hawk, A. gundlachi Henst's goshawk, A. henstii Imitator sparrowhawk, A. imitator Japanese sparrowhawk, A. gularis Levant sparrowhawk, A. brevipes Little sparrowhawk, A. minullus Madagascar sparrowhawk, A. madagascariensis Moluccan goshawk, A. henicogrammus Meyer's goshawk, A. meyerianus New Britain goshawk, A. princeps New Britain sparrowhawk, A. brachyurus Nicobar sparrowhawk, A. butleri Northern goshawk, A. gentilis Ovambo sparrowhawk, A.