Any of the more powerful accipiters ( Accipiter ), primarily short-winged, forest-dwelling bird catchers.
Best known is the northern goshawk, which reaches about 2 ft (60 cm) in length with a 4.3-ft (1.3-m) wingspread and has finely barred gray plumage. Long used for {{link=falconry">falconry , the goshawk takes game as large as foxes and grouse. In the wild it lives in temperate to northern forests throughout the Northern Hemisphere, though it has become rare in the British Isles and is declining in North America. Several other species are found in the Southern Hemisphere.
Northern goshawk ( Accipiter gentilis ).
Karl H. Maslowski