Goshawk

“ THE GOSHAWKS Three species.— [The author now describes three races of goshawk, which he distinguishes by the names of Tīqūn; T̤arlān; and Qizil: [33] each of these three he sub-divides into varieties, only distinguishable from each other by slight differences in colouring, in marking, or in size. The first-named species is the white [4] goshawk; the second is that variety or race of the common goshawk that is caught after migration into Persia; while the third is the local race that breeds in the country. ”

“ Goshawks are flown at hares, rabbits, pheasants, partridges and wild-fowl. Only very strong females are able to take hares; rabbits are easy quarry for any female goshawk, and a little too strong for the male. A good female goshawk may kill from 10 to 15 rabbits in a day, or more. For pheasants the male is to be preferred, certainly for partridges; either sex will take duck and teal, but the falconer must get close to them before they are flushed, or the goshawk will stand a poor chance of killing. ”

“ The hare weighs commonly three times as much as his captor; yet the victor hawk must not only vanquish the hare, but also hold him fast. It is almost as if a strong man were expected to hold a wild zebra in his clutches. But the strength of a goshawk’s grasp, like that of the eagle’s, must be tested by experience to be properly understood.
The female goshawk, besides being flown at ground game, may be trained to take many other quarry, both big and little. At pheasants she may be expected to do good execution. Partridges will sometimes be captured in fair flight when a good start is made. ”

“ Where rabbits sit out on grass or in turnip fields, a goshawk may be used with success, even in a wood when the holes are not too near. From various causes it is impossible, or nearly so, to have goshawks in England in the perfection to which they are brought in the East. In India, for instance, there is a far greater variety of quarry suited to them, and wild birds are much more approachable; moreover, there are advantages for training which do not exist in England. ”

“ Since leaving Bige that morning I had seen no big game, but had shot a goshawk. Every guide and hunter of my acquaintance in the North Woods, is the sworn enemy of this bird of prey. No man is thought to have performed his duty if he allows one of these hawks to escape. The goshawk destroys many song birds, but his particular object in life is to kill partridges. The partridge is one of our most desirable game birds. He has many enemies among the four footed residents of the forest. The owl also, will kill a partridge at night, while he is roosting in a tree ”

“ Goshawk and other Birds in Yorkshire.—On the 30th October last I was at Filey, where Mr. Brown showed me a Long-tailed Drake in most perfect plumage, which had been shot while flying over the Brigg the previous week. During the present winter several other examples have been met with, but all females or immature birds. Both the Black-throated and Red-throated Divers have been very abundant off the Yorkshire coast. On January 29th I went over to Flamborough to see Mr. Bailey; he showed me a fine adult female Goshawk, just mounted, which had been killed at Sewerby on the 23rd. ”

“ The goshawk is the scourge of pigeon-cotes, for which reason it is also called the pigeons’ falcon. It selects for itself a lofty perch on some tall tree and there keeps a watchful eye on the flocks of pigeons foraging in the fields. Woe betide the luckless one that forgets for a moment to be on its guard. The bird pounces upon it in oblique flight, almost skimming the surface of the ground, and in less than no time the pigeon is seized and carried off to some lonely rock, where the ravisher plucks its feathers and tears it to pieces while still warm. ”

“ I believe this is properly a wagtail, but the term is by some Turks also applied to a species of sparrow. Miyān Mahmūd Sāhibzāda, of Taunsa, a Muslim friend of mine, and a keen and successful falconer of considerable experience, is of opinion that though a goshawk should be long, it should have a short tail and a short tarsus. As a matter of course the hawk should be heavy and well furnished, the flesh being hard, not soft. “Never,” said this authority, “buy a camel, a horse, or a goshawk, with a short neck. A long neck is a sign of staying power and vigour.” ”

“ The great goshawk, a bird in a coat of blackish-brown covered with blotches of black and reddish-white, is a terrible enemy to wild rabbits, hares, and squirrels, and to all the small feathered inhabitants of field and forest. ”

“ The people of Turkistan, who are highly skilled in the art of training goshawks, call this variety lāziqī. [41]
It is commonly believed by falconers and bird-catchers, that in the early spring, when the female goshawk is desirous of the attentions of a male, she utters loud and plaintive cries, which attract to her many species of birds. From these she selects a male of a species different from herself, [42] and the result of this union is a diversiform progeny. However, the kāfūrī or lāziqī variety is the offspring of two white parents. ”

“ Artists are fond of depicting the goshawk as she stands with outspread wings and half-open mouth with the hare paralysed in her terrible foot. No better personification could, indeed, be found of the pride of victory. ”

“ The male goshawk, much smaller in size than his sisters, is less valuable to the sportsman, but is usually accounted rather swifter on the wing. The best specimens will catch a partridge in fair flight; and most of them, with a tolerably good start, will overtake a pheasant. A very strong male will sometimes catch and hold a full-grown rabbit, and the others may be expected to kill half-grown rabbits and leverets, if kept to such quarry. Landrails and water-hens make a more or less easy flight. ”

“ On the third day she may be flown either at a better bagged quarry or at a wild one. She should have a very good start for her first real flight, and in a country free from burrows or impenetrable covert. Then, if she only starts, she ought to kill in the case of a rabbit. Nothing is more bloodthirsty than a young goshawk in yarak; nor, in proportion to its size, has so much strength in its grasp. When once the four long daggers with which each of her feet is armed are imbedded in the head or neck of a rabbit or leveret, it is generally all up with that unlucky beast. ”

“ American Goshawk.—The present collection includes four Goshawks, one an adult male, the remaining 232three young, or at least immature, birds in brown plumage. The adult is absolutely identical with Massachusetts specimens, and must be considered typical atricapillus. Two of the young agree well with Mr. Ridgway’s description of young striatulus, [113] but the third does not have the markings either darker or more extensive than do several of my New England examples, and the dorsal feathers have an even broader light (ochraceous) edging ”

“ The strength of a goshawk’s beak and feet is almost incredible; and, this being so, it is well to be provided with good store of useful tirings. Heads and necks of fowls will be acceptable; and the more elderly and bony these creatures are the better for the purpose. For during the long process of carrying you will want to give your goshawk plenty of hard morsels to pull at; and none but the toughest will withstand for long the attacks of her sharp-pointed beak. The frequent discussion of bony tirings will wear down that sharpness a little, but I think not quite enough. ”

“ In full plumage the goshawk is bluish-slate color, and differs from the other large hawks in having shorter wings, longer tail, and yellow or orange-colored eyes.
When flying, the marsh hawk has the appearance of being a large bird, but in weight he would be classed among the smaller hawks. A lean-bodied, loose-jointed, long-limbed bird, he sails along close to the grass, carefully beating over ever foot of ground in his day's hunt. ”

“ As the goshawk is carried without a hood, and as he is not to be brought down by the lure, but must come to the fist at the falconer’s call, it is essential that he should be made as tame as possible, and this can only be done by almost constant carriage, and by allowing him frequently to pull upon a stump or pinion, from which he can get but little meat. He will soon learn to come from the perch to the fist, if held close to him when allured by meat. ”

“ The immediate occasion of this election was the present, by Thoreau, to the Society, of a fine specimen of the American goshawk, 189 caught or shot by Jacob Farmer, which Mr. Cabot acknowledged, December 18, 1849, saying: "It was first described by Wilson; lately Audubon has identified it with the European goshawk, thereby committing a very flagrant blunder. It is usually a very rare species with us. The European bird is used in hawking; and doubtless ours would be equally game. If Mr. Farmer skins him now, he will have to take second cut ”

“ It is probably the “Crested Goshawk” (Astur trivirgatus) which is said to have been formerly trained in India. Jerdon, quoting Layard, says it is trained in Ceylon. The T̤ug͟hral is confused by Indian falconers with the Shāh-bāz, or “Royal Goshawk” which, according to Jerdon, is the name given by native falconers of Southern India to the Crested Hawk-Eagle (Limnætus cristatellus) . The same author also quotes Major Pearse as his informant that the Rufous-bellied Hawk-Eagle (L. kienierii) is, “Very rarely procured from the N.W. Himalayas and trained for hunting and is known as the Shāh-bāz.” ”

“ At the mere appearance of the bird’s shadow the rooster raises a cry of alarm and the little chickens hastily take refuge under their mother’s wing, while she, her feathers ruffled and her eyes blazing, sometimes succeeds in frightening off the enemy by her show of boldness. For lack of pigeons and barnyard fowls the goshawk hunts young hares, squirrels, and small birds, and in time of famine it will even eat moles and mice. Wooded mountains are its favorite abode, and it builds its nest in the tallest oaks and beeches. ”

“ This inclosure is left open at the top, and in the middle a pigeon is to be tied to the ground for a bait. The meshes of this net should not be too small, and the colour should be as much as possible like that of the surrounding objects.
The goshawk is termed a hawk of the fist, because it is from thence, and not from the air, that he flies at his game. He is never to be hooded unless for a short time when first taken, or to keep him quiet in travelling. The resting-place of short-winged hawks is called a perch. ”

“ You say of a goshawk if it be very swift-winged and swoops well down on a partridge, that it is a good bird; of a greyhound following a hare very close and catching it, that it is a first-rate dog; it is also quite right that you should say of a man who hunts the wild boar, brings it to bay, walks up to it and kills it with a spear, that he is a courageous man. ”

“ A housewife will hear a rush of wings and cries of terror, and can only reach the door in time to see one of these robbers sailing off with the finest of her pullets. Hares and wild-ducks are favorite game also. The goshawk will take a mallard with perfect ease, neatly and deliberately strip off the feathers, and then, like an epicure, eat the breast only. Audubon once saw a large flock of blackbirds crossing the Ohio. ”

“ The Goshawk, the Peregrine, and the Gyr Falcon, which I conceive to be the swiftest of our hawks, are obliged to pursue their victim, should it be a Green-winged Teal or Passenger Pigeon, at times for half a mile, at the highest pitch of their speed, before they can secure them. The bird of which I speak comes from on high with the velocity of a meteor, and on nearing the object of its pursuit, which its keen eye has spied while fishing at a distance, darts on either side to cut off all retreat, and with open bill forces it to drop or disgorge the fish which it has just caught. ”

“ I don’t really see that Ned is in any danger. Captain Kemp will take care of him.”
“But,” she said, “the Goshawk may be captured.”
“No,” replied Mr. Crawford, confidently.120 “She hasn’t sailed across prairie to the Rio Grande. There won’t be any fighting at Vera Cruz for ever so long. There can’t be any on the sea, for Mexico has no navy. The Goshawk is entirely safe, and so is Ned. It’ll be a grand experience for him.” ”

“ The uncoped goshawk not only ruins the best glove in double-quick time, but sometimes in starting from the fist does not completely disengage all eight needles immediately from the buckskin, and so is impeded, and flurried, and vexed in that short temper of her own. ”

“ Note of warning.—Should your goshawk, when flown at chukor or seesee, give up the pursuit half way and take to soaring, and should another partridge rise [788] and the hawk then leave its soaring and start in pursuit, either taking the partridge in the air or on its putting it, on no account reward her: give her no food at all, for if you do you will confirm her in the habit of soaring. Had not this second partridge risen, your hawk would certainly have soared away out of view. ”

“ A goshawk which will take hares is the more valuable; but it is doubtful if she shows any better sport. Gaiety Girl, whose portrait is given, changed hands at £20, and was well worth the money. This hawk, trained by Mr. A. Newall on Salisbury Plain, killed no less than fifty-five hares in one season, besides other quarry. Of course if goshawks are to be flown at hares, they must be left strictly to this quarry as far as possible, and not encouraged to ever look at a rabbit. ”