Accipiter is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. The genus name is Latin for "hawk", from accipere, "to grasp". Most species are called goshawks or sparrowhawks, although all New World species are simply known as hawks. 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.