Little Sparrowhawk

The little sparrowhawk (Tachyspiza minulla) is a species of Afrotropical bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter. It is the smallest member of the genus Tachyspiza and forms a superspecies with the red-thighed sparrowhawk (Tachyspiza erythropus). == Taxonomy == The little sparrowhawk was formally described in 1800 by the French zoologist François Daudin under the binomial name Falco minullus. Daudin based his account on "le minulle" that had been described and illustrated by François Levaillant in 1798. Levaillant had collected his specimens near the Gamtoos River in the province of Eastern Cape in South Africa. The specific epithet minullus is Modern Latin meaning "very small". The little sparrowhawk was formerly assigned to the genus Accipiter. In 2024 a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the Accipitridae confirmed earlier work that had shown that the genus was polyphyletic. To resolve the non-monophyly, Accipiter was divided into six genera. The genus Tachyspiza was resurrected to accommodate the little sparrowhawk together with 26 other species that had previously been placed in Accipiter. The resurrected genus had been introduced in 1844 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ταχυς (takhus)…