NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Little Sparrowhawk
Tachyspiza minulla (Daudin, 1800)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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).
Wikipedia contributors, Little sparrowhawk; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:14:20.866822+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Tachyspiza minulla (Daudin, 1800)
- Name authority
- (Daudin, 1800)
- Common name
- Little Sparrowhawk
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Genus
- Tachyspiza
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderAccipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae Vigors, 1824
- genusTachyspiza Kaup, 1844
- speciesTachyspiza minulla (Daudin, 1800)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Tachyspiza. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Variable GoshawkTachyspiza hiogaster (S. Müller, 1841) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Red-thighed SparrowhawkTachyspiza erythropus (Hartlaub, 1855) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Frances's SparrowhawkTachyspiza francesiae (A. Smith, 1834) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-mantled GoshawkTachyspiza melanochlamys (Salvadori, 1876) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| ShikraTachyspiza badia (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Nicobar SparrowhawkTachyspiza butleri (J. H. Gurney Jr, 1898) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dwarf SparrowhawkTachyspiza nanus (W. Blasius, 1897) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| New Britain GoshawkTachyspiza princeps (Mayr, 1934) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Imitator GoshawkTachyspiza imitator (E. J. O. Hartert, 1926) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Levant SparrowhawkTachyspiza brevipes (Severtsov, 1850) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fiji GoshawkTachyspiza rufitorques (Peale, 1849) | AccipitridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Falco minullus Daudin, 1800 Daudin, 1800 | synonym |
| Accipiter minullus (Daudin, 1800) (Daudin, 1800) | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1253637 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:CVWGZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.