Hieraspiza Kaup, 1844 (but see text) Accipiter (/ækˈsɪpədər/) is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae.

These birds are slender with short, broad, rounded wings and a long tail which helps them maneuver in flight.

They often ambush their prey, mainly small birds and mammals, capturing them after a short chase.

The foramen is generally present in birds of prey, but it is absent in most Accipiter hawks that have been studied.

The notch was variably open or weakly ossified in Spizastur melanoleucos, Lophoaetus occipitalis, Spizaetus ornatus, and Stephanoaetus coronatus.

Urotriorchis macrourus has a well-developed procoracoid foramen, which suggests a separation from Accipiter.

A series of molecular phylogenetic studies found that the traditional arrangement was non-monophyletic.

The publication of a densely sampled study of the Accipitridae in 2024 allowed the generic boundaries to be redefined.