Editing Levant sparrowhawk (section)

==Taxonomy==
The Levant sparrowhawk was [[species description|formally described]] in 1850 by the Russian naturalist [[Nikolai Severtzov]] under the [[binomial name]] ''Astur brevipes''.<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Severtzov | first=Nikolai | author-link=Nikolai Severtzov | date= | title=''Astur brevipes'', nouvelle espèce Russe| language=French | journal=Bulletin de la Société impériale des naturalistes de Moscou | volume=23 | issue=3–4 | pages=234-239 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/44119706 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Cottrell | editor2-first=G. William | year=1979 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=1 | edition=2nd | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | pages=327-328 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16108967 }}</ref> The species was formerly placed in the large and diverse genus ''[[Accipiter]]''. In 2024 a comprehensive [[molecular phylogenetic]] study of the Accipitridae confirmed earlier work that had shown that the genus was [[polyphyletic]].<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Catanach | first1=T.A. | last2=Halley | first2=M.R. | last3=Pirro | first3=S. | date=2024 | title=Enigmas no longer: using ultraconserved elements to place several unusual hawk taxa and address the non-monophyly of the genus ''Accipiter'' (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae) | journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society | pages=blae028 | doi=10.1093/biolinnean/blae028}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | last1=Mindell | first1=D. | last2=Fuchs | first2=J. | last3=Johnson | first3=J. | date=2018 | chapter=Phylogeny, taxonomy, and geographic diversity of diurnal raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes  | editor1-last=Sarasola | editor1-first=J.H. | editor2-last=Grange | editor2-first=J.M. | editor3-last=Negro | editor3-first=J.J. | title=Birds of Prey: Biology and conservation in the XXI century | location=Cham, Switzerland | publisher=Springer | isbn=978-3-319-73744-7 | pages=3-32 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326086278 }}</ref> To resolve the non-[[monophyletic|monophyly]], ''Accipiter'' was divided into six genera. The genus ''[[Tachyspiza]]'' was resurrected to accommodate the Levant 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]].<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=August 2024 | title=Hoatzin, New World vultures, Secretarybird, raptors | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/raptors/| publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=21 August 2024 }}</ref>  The genus name combines the [[Ancient Greek]] ταχυς (''takhus'') meaning "fast" with σπιζιας (''spizias'') meaning "hawk".<ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=Tachyspiza | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=Tachyspiza | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=24 August 2024 }}</ref> The specific epithet combines [[Latin]] ''brevis'' meaning "short" with ''pes'', ''pedis'' meaning "foot".<ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=brevipes | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=brevipes | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=24 August 2024 }}</ref> 

It is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the [[shikra]] (''Tachyspiza badia''), though it differs in measurements, proportions and plumage, and breeds [[wiktionary:contiguous|contiguously]] with the latter (typically considered a reliable indicator of [[speciation]]) over at least part of its range. Along with the shikra, the [[Chinese sparrowhawk]] (''Tachyspiza soloensis'') and the [[Nicobar sparrowhawk]] (''Tachyspiza butleri''), it makes up a complex [[species group]].<ref name = "Ferg-Lees531"/> It is known to have [[hybrid (biology)|hybridised]] with the shikra and the [[Eurasian sparrowhawk]].<ref name = "McCarthy"/> Despite its extensive range, no [[subspecies]] are recognised.<ref name=ioc/>