Falconer

“ His fame, to make it theirs:
And has his sword and spoils ungirt
To lay them at the Public’s skirt. 90
So when the falcon high
Falls heavy from the sky,
She, having killed, no more does search
But on the next green bough to perch,
Where, when he first does lure, 95
The falconer has her sure.
—What may not then our Isle presume,
While victory his crest does plume?
What may not others fear,
If thus he crowns each year! ”

“ Kneeling down with the hawk on his fist, and gently unhooding her, the falconer casts out a lure, which may be either a dead pigeon or an artificial lure garnished with beefsteak tied to a string, to a distance of a couple or three feet in front of her. When she jumps down to it, she should be allowed to eat a little on it—the voice being used—the while receiving morsels from the falconer’s hand; and before her meal is finished she must be taken off to the hand, being induced to forsake the lure for the hand by a tempting piece of meat. ”

“ If she drink only one beakful, it is an advantage, especially at night. Drinking keeps her in health.
Now my son, know that it is the pride and glory of a falconer to train long-winged, not short-winged hawks; for the natural quarry of the former is rats, black-breasted sand-grouse, pigeons, duck, and small birds; but when falcons fall into the hands of a competent falconer, they are required to take common cranes, geese, and gazelles. If the falconer be not skilled, how can such quarry be taken by the falcon? ”

“ This lesson is to be continued till the falcon feeds very boldly on the lure on the ground, in the falconer’s presence—till she will suffer him to walk round her while she is feeding. All this time she will have been held by the leash only, but in the next step a strong, but light creance must be made fast to the leash, and an assistant holding the hawk should unhood her, as the falconer, standing at a distance of 5 to 10 yds., calls her by shouting and casting out the lure. Gradually day after day the distance is increased, till the hawk will come 30 yds. ”

“ This man was Awad, the old falconer, the man who trains falcons, who was only too proud to show off his household of fine birds. These hawk-like birds, called falcons, are great hunters of small game; and can be trained to hunt for their masters, just as one can train a dog. The falcon drops down on its prey from above, in a swift, straight line, and buries its sharp claws in its back, often killing it before its master comes up.
Hamid showed Rashid how he could make his two handsome falcons come and sit on his wrist and obey him. ”

“ Then the falconer, his hand covered with a glove, takes the Falcon on his wrist, and carries it about night and day, without allowing it rest. If the pupil is intractable, refuses to submit, and tries to use its bill, the tamer plunges its head into cold water, and thus produces stupor in the bird. ”

“ During the night previous to a day's hunting they are not allowed to sleep. Each falconer lies down with one falcon on his left wrist, and keeps up an incessant tapping with the other hand on the bird's head. This is done to make them fierce. Should the quarry escape, a hare's skin is thrown down, by which means the falcons are secured, and made ready for a further flight. Occasionally, but rarely, the falcon misses its blow at the hare, with the result of a broken or injured "arm." ”

“ A falconer, whose province it was to tame, manage, and look after falcons and other hawks, was formerly as great and conspicuous a character as the most celebrated huntsman of the present day. The influence of fashion and the changes wrought by time have, however, so obscured both sport and sportsmen in this way, that neither hawk, falcon, or falconer, are to be seen or heard of, unless in the northern parts of the kingdom, where it is also nearly buried in oblivion.—Sebright—Daniel. ”

“ Major C. E. Radclyffe, who has had almost unrivalled experience as a falconer, writes as follows:
“All forms of falcons and short-winged hawks, such as sparrow-hawks and goshawks, [144] always strike their quarry with their feet, and never with anything else. The killers are those which ‘bind to’ their quarry in the air, that is, pick up a bird in their feet, and never let go of it until they come to the ground. A really experienced old trained falcon does this nine times out of ten. ”

“ The gyr falcon was the ancient falconer’s prime favourite—a present, as already observed, meet to be offered to the monarch on his throne. She is the boldest, the most perfect winged, and, in proportion to her weight, the strongest both for action and endurance of all the feathered tribe. ”

“ Qualifications of a Falconer.—The first requisite in a falconer is patience. The second; that he be a sportsman and have a genuine love for his hawks, and fly them himself. Let him not [74] say:—“I will take a lot of chukor; my master will reward me;” or, “Such and such quarry is unlawful for food (ḥarām) ; I won’t fly at it. What is the use of taking ravens and eagles? I’ll hawk chukor and seesee, and take them to my master ”

“ The young hawks must be most plentifully fed on the best fresh food obtainable—good beefsteak and fresh-killed birds; the falconer when feeding them should use his voice as in luring. As they grow old enough they will come out, and perch about the roof of their shed, by degrees extending their flights to neighbouring buildings or trees, never failing to come at feeding time to the place where they are fed. Soon they will be continually on the wing, playing or fighting with one another, and later the falconer will observe them chasing other birds, as pigeons and rooks, which may be passing by. ”

“ The falconer will, at least once a day, visit the moulting-room, if it is only for the purpose of changing the bath water, clearing away the castings and the stray feathers of birds that have been plucked and eaten, and gathering up any feathers which may have been dropped by the hawk herself. ”

“ But upon the Continent the Shrike appears to have rendered a more important service to the falconer, than the capture of small birds, even the capture of the higher kinds of Falcons themselves. Sir John Sebright informs us that the Peregrine Falcon is taken by placing in a favourable situation a small bow-net, so arranged as to be drawn over quickly by a long string that is attached to it. A pigeon of a light colour is tied on the ground as a bait, and the falconer is concealed, at a convenient distance, in a hut made of turf, to which the string reaches. ”

“ A strong leathern strap, about three feet long, fastened to it with a swivel, enabled the falconer to swing it round his head, or throw it to a distance. With high-flying hawks, however, it was often found necessary to use a live pigeon, secured to a string by soft leather jesses, in order to recall them.47
The long-winged hawks were always brought to the lure, the short-winged ones to the hand:—
“As falcon to the lure, away she flies.” ”

“ Colonel Thornton informs us, that he flew one at a pheasant, which got into cover, and the hawk was lost; at ten o’clock next morning the falconer found her, and just as he caught her the pheasant ran and rose. According to Meyer, it will prey on its own young, but its principal food is wild ducks, hares, and rabbits. In the young, the head, neck, and belly, are of a rufous colour, with long brown spots, and tips of the tail white. In this plumage they have been termed gentil falcons. ”

“ The falconer employs himself in some sedentary occupation, relying upon the vigilance of the Butcher-bird to warn him of the approach of a Hawk. This he never fails to do, by screaming loudly when he perceives his enemy at a distance, and by running under the turf when the Hawk draws near. The falconer is thus prepared to pull the net, the moment that the Falcon has pounced upon the pigeon. ”

“ But the boy falconer may find a very effective and cheap substitute in the larger kind of brass ferrets’ bells, which in form exactly resemble the real thing, and are, indeed, the cheap hawks’ furniture of our forefathers. Excellent and genuine falcon bells, and all the gear of falconry, viz., hoods, jesses, bewits, leash, and lure, are now to be bought. The country boy who is clever enough to help himself will find tanned hound’s skin, which does not shrink, the best of all leather. Besides this, he must beg of some ”

“ It will be found that she will circle round the falconer looking for the lure she has been accustomed to see—perhaps mount a little in the air, and advantage must be taken of a favourable moment when the hawk is at a little height, her head being turned in towards the falconer, to let go a pigeon which she can easily catch. When the hawk has taken two or three pigeons in this way, and mounts immediately in expectation, in short, begins to wait on, she should see no more pigeons, but be tried at game as soon as possible. ”

“ So does the wretched condition of the caged falcon (before alluded to) , while the really lazy buzzards and kites, which do not in a wild state depend on activity or power of wing for their sustenance, maintain themselves for years, even during confinement if properly fed, in good case and plumage. Such being the habits of the falcon in a state of nature, the falconer should endeavour to give the hawks under his care as much flying as possible, and he should avoid the very common mistake of keeping too many hawks. ”

“ Once in a hedge or tree he is perfectly safe from the wild falcon, but the case is otherwise when the falconer approaches with his trained tiercel, perhaps a cast of tiercels, waiting on in the air, with some active runners in his field. ”

“ The aim of the falconer must be to have his hawks always keen, and the appetite when they are brought into the field should be such as would induce the bird in a state of nature to put forth its full powers to obtain its food, with, as near as possible, a corresponding condition as to flesh. ”

“ Few hawks will return to the falconer without the lure, which consists of the wing of a bustard or fowl, or of a piece of meat attached to a string, and swung round in the air. The Eastern huntsman has a different call for each variety of falcon. A good chark will sometimes take as many as eight or ten bustards or five or six gazelles in the course of a morning. ”

“ In what is deemed a good flight, this is frequently repeated, and the three birds often mount to a great height in the air. When one of the hawks seizes his prey, the other soon binds to him, as it is termed, and buoyant from the motion of their wings, the three descend together to the ground with but little velocity. The falconer must lose no time in getting hold of the heron’s neck when he is on the ground, to prevent him from injuring the hawks. It is then, and not when he is in the air, that he will use his beak in his defence. ”

“ When he has flown some eighty yards the peregrine is unhooded and let go after him. She at once flies upwards, and in a few seconds is above the crow, who, seeing her, drops to the ground and lies there on his back prepared to show fight. The falcon stoops at him, but seems to be afraid to tackle him on the ground. The falconer then runs up to him and tries to make him get up; but he refuses, so he is picked up and thrown into the air. The falcon at once stoops at him, but before she reaches him the crow has again dropped to the ground, and still the falcon refuses to close with him. ”

“ After supper the Pasha Khan's falconer brings in several fine falcons for my inspection, and in reply to questions concerning one with his eyelids tied up in what appears to be a cruel manner, I am told that this is the customary way of breaking the spirits of the young falcons and rendering them tractable and submissive the eyelids are pierced with a hole, a silk thread is then fastened to each eyelid and the ends tied together over the head, sufficiently tight to prevent them opening their eyes. ”

“ In another direction, in which the Sultan rode, the falconers had come upon packs of sand-grouse, a handsome game bird, as large as the red grouse, with a very powerful flight. The Barbary falcon is a splendid bird, a little smaller than the Peregrine, but of great power and speed. They are not trained to "wait on," but as they were cast off, they took the air, and darted like lightning into the [35] affrighted flock, each time bringing a victim fluttering to the earth. ”

“ Low bending, as if ne’er to rise again.
‘Bear up the helm a-weather!’ Rodmond cries;
Swift at the word the helm a-weather flies;
She feels its guiding power, and veers apace,
And now the fore-sail right athwart they brace:
With equal sheets restrained, the bellying sail
Spreads a broad concave to the sweeping gale.
While o’er the foam the ship impetuous flies,
The helm th’ attentive timoneer applies:
As in pursuit along th’ aërial way
With ardent eye the falcon marks his prey.
Each motion watches of the doubtful chace,
Obliquely wheeling through the fluid space ”

“ In other words, when young the markings are in the form of stripes, when old in the form of bars. The variation of tint is very great, especially in F. peregrinus; but the experience of falconers, whose business it is to keep their birds in the very highest condition, shows that a falcon of either of these groups if light-coloured in youth is light-coloured when adult, and if dark when young is also dark when old-age, after the first moult, making no difference in the complexion of the bird. ”

“ In falconry, as in venery, great care was taken to secure that a bird should continue at one object of prey until he had secured it, that is to say, it was most essential to teach it not to leave the game he was after in order to pursue another which might come in his way.
To establish a falconry, therefore, not only was a very large poultry-yard required, but also a considerable staff of huntsmen, falconers, and whips, besides a number of horses and dogs of all sorts, which were either used for starting the game for the hawks, or for running it down when it was forced to ground by the birds. ”