Semicollared hawk

The semicollared hawk, Microspizias collaris, is a small and rare bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It lives in forests at middle elevations on the Andean slopes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, and is not migratory. The adult has black upperparts, a white band across the back of the neck and white underparts that may carry blotches on the sides, while young birds are more brownish. It usually stays inside the forest and preys on smaller birds, and the few feeding records, including passerine feathers found in a stomach in northern Colombia, suggest it feeds mainly or only on birds. It was long placed in the genus Accipiter, but a 2021 phylogenetic study found it and the tiny hawk to form a distinct group, so both were moved into the new genus Microspizias. Agricultural expansion and forestry decline are a possible future threat to its habitat.