Accipiter is a genus  of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae, many of which are named as goshawks and sparrowhawks (not to be confused with the American sparrowhawk, now more commonly known as the American kestrel, a type of falcon). They can be anatomically distinguished from their relatives by the lack of a procoracoid foramen. Two small and aberrant species usually placed here do possess a large procoracoid foramen and are also distinct as regards DNA sequence. They may warrant separation in the old genus Hieraspiza.