The
genus Tachyspiza was introduced in 1844 by the German naturalist
Johann Jakob Kaup with
Falco soloensis Horsfield (
Chinese sparrowhawk) as the
type species. The name combines the
Ancient Greek ταχυς (
takhus) meaning "fast" with σπιζιας (
spizias) meaning "hawk". Species now placed in this genus were formerly assigned to the genus
Accipiter.
Molecular phylogenetic studies found that
Accipiter was
polyphyletic and in the subsequent rearrangement to create
monophyletic genera, the genus
Tachyspiza was resurrected to contain 27 species that were previously placed in
Accipiter. The genus contains 27 species: •
Pied goshawk,
Tachyspiza albogularis –
Solomon Islands •
Shikra,
Tachyspiza badia – Afrotropics and Asia •
New Britain sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza brachyura –
New Britain and
New Ireland •
Levant sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza brevipes – breeds southeast Europe to west Kazakhstan; winters in central Africa •
Nicobar sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza butleri –
Nicobar Islands •
Collared sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza cirrocephala – New Guinea and Australia •
Brown goshawk,
Tachyspiza fasciata – Australia and the south-west Pacific •
Frances's sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza francesiae –
Comoros (except
Mohéli) and
Madagascar •
Rufous-necked sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza erythrauchen –
Moluccas •
Red-thighed sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza erythropus – west, west-central Africa •
Japanese sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza gularis – breeds east Palearctic; winters Southeast Asia •
White-bellied goshawk,
Tachyspiza haplochroa – Grande Terre (
New Caledonia) •
Moluccan goshawk,
Tachyspiza henicogramma – north
Moluccas •
Variable goshawk,
Tachyspiza hiogaster –
Moluccas and
Lesser Sundas to
New Guinea,
Bismarck Archipelago and
Solomon Islands •
Imitator goshawk,
Tachyspiza imitator – north, east
Solomon Islands •
Slaty-mantled goshawk,
Tachyspiza luteoschistacea – southeast
Bismarck Archipelago •
Black-mantled goshawk,
Tachyspiza melanochlamys – montane New Guinea •
Little sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza minulla – south, south-central, east Africa •
Dwarf sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza nanus –
Sulawesi •
Grey goshawk,
Tachyspiza novaehollandiae – north, east Australia •
Grey-headed goshawk,
Tachyspiza poliocephala –
New Guinea •
New Britain goshawk,
Tachyspiza princeps –
New Britain •
Vinous-breasted sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza rhodogaster –
Sulawesi,
Banggai and
Sula Islands •
Fiji goshawk,
Tachyspiza rufitorques –
Fiji •
Chinese sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza soloensis – breeds east Siberia,
Korean Peninsula and China; winters south China and Taiwan through Philippines and
Indonesian archipelago to
Maluku Islands •
Spot-tailed sparrowhawk,
Tachyspiza trinotata –
Sulawesi •
Besra,
Tachyspiza virgata – south, southeast Asia ==Extinct species==