Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica.
A harrier is any of the several species of diurnal hawks sometimes placed in the subfamily Circinae of the bird of prey family Accipitridae. Harriers characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds. The young of the species are sometimes referred to as ring-tail harriers. They are distinctive with long wings, a long narrow tail, the slow and low flight over grasslands and skull peculiarities. The harriers are thought to have diversified with the expansion of grasslands and the emergence of C4 grasses about 6 to 8 million years ago during the Late Miocene and Pliocene.
The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds of prey with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a few feeding on fruit. The Accipitridae have a cosmopolitan distribution, being found on all the world's continents and a number of oceanic island groups. Some species are migratory. The family contains 255 species which are divided into 70 genera.
The dark chanting goshawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which is found across much of sub-Saharan Africa and southern Arabia, with an isolated and declining population in southern Morocco.
The shikra is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae found widely distributed in Asia and Africa where it is also called the little banded goshawk. The African forms may represent a separate species but have usually been considered as subspecies of the shikra. The shikra is very similar in appearance to other sparrowhawk species including the Chinese goshawk and Eurasian sparrowhawk. They have a sharp two note call and have the typical flap and glide flight. Their calls are imitated by drongos and the common hawk-cuckoo resembles it in plumage.
The plumbeous kite is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae that is resident in much of northern South America. It is migratory in the northern part of its range which extends north to Mexico. It feeds on insects which it catches either from a perch or while in flight.
The great black hawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks, and Old World vultures.
Circaetus, the snake eagles, is a genus of medium-sized eagles in the bird of prey family Accipitridae. They are mainly resident African species, but the migratory short-toed snake eagle breeds from the Mediterranean basin into Russia, the Middle East and India, and winters in sub-Saharan Africa and east to Indonesia.
Gurney's eagle is a large eagle in the family Accipitridae. It is found in New Guinea and Wallacea, and is an occasional vagrant to Australia.
The genus Hieraaetus, sometimes known as small eagles or hawk-eagles, denotes a group of smallish eagles usually placed in the accipitrid subfamilies Buteoninae or Aquilinae.
The pale chanting goshawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. This hawk breeds in southern Africa and is a resident species of dry, open semi-desert with 75 cm or less annual rainfall. It is commonly seen perched on roadside telephone poles.
Haliastur is a genus of medium-sized diurnal birds of prey. It consists of two species of kites which form part of the subfamily Milvinae; some authorities place these species in the genus Milvus, despite clear differences in behaviour, voice and plumage.
The tiny hawk is a small diurnal bird of prey found in or near forests, primarily humid, throughout much of the Neotropics. It is primarily a bird-eater, and is known to prey on hummingbirds.
Meyer's goshawk is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is found in the Moluccas, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
Butastur is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae.
Buteogallus is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. All members of this genus are essentially neotropical, but the distribution of a single species extends slightly into the extreme southwestern United States. Many of the species are fond of large crustaceans and even patrol long stretches of shore or riverbank on foot where such prey abounds, but some have a rather different lifestyle. Unlike many other genera of raptor, some members are referred to as "hawks", and others as "eagles".
The gabar goshawk is a small species of African and Arabian bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.
Ictinia is a genus of birds in the family Accipitridae. It contains two species that are native to the Americas.
Goshawk may refer to several species of birds of prey, mainly in the genus Accipiter:
Clanga is a genus which contains the spotted eagles. The genus name is from Ancient Greek klangos, "eagle".
