The poetical works of Christovão Falcão were published anonymously, owing, it is supposed, to their personal nature and allusions,and, in part or in whole, they have been often reprinted. There is a modern critical edition ofChrisfaland aCarta(letter) by A. Epiphanio da Silva Dias under the titleObras de Christovão Falcão(Oporto, 1893), and one of theCantigasandEsparsasby the same scholar appeared in theRevista Lusitana, vol. 4, pp. 142-179 (Lisbon, 1896), under the nameFragmento de um Cancioneiro do Seculo XVI. SeeBernardim Ribeiro e o Bucolismo, by Dr T. Braga (Oporto, 1897), andBernardim Ribeiro(O Poeta Crisfal), by Delfim Guimarães (Lisbon, 1908).
The poetical works of Christovão Falcão were published anonymously, owing, it is supposed, to their personal nature and allusions,and, in part or in whole, they have been often reprinted. There is a modern critical edition ofChrisfaland aCarta(letter) by A. Epiphanio da Silva Dias under the titleObras de Christovão Falcão(Oporto, 1893), and one of theCantigasandEsparsasby the same scholar appeared in theRevista Lusitana, vol. 4, pp. 142-179 (Lisbon, 1896), under the nameFragmento de um Cancioneiro do Seculo XVI. SeeBernardim Ribeiro e o Bucolismo, by Dr T. Braga (Oporto, 1897), andBernardim Ribeiro(O Poeta Crisfal), by Delfim Guimarães (Lisbon, 1908).
(E. Pr.)
FALCK, ANTON REINHARD(1777-1843), Dutch statesman, was born at Utrecht on the 19th of March 1777. He studied at the university of Leiden, and entered the Dutch diplomatic service, being appointed to the legation at Madrid. Under King Louis Napoleon he was secretary-general for foreign affairs, but resigned office on the annexation of the Batavian republic to France. He took a leading part in the revolt of 1813 against French domination, and had a considerable share in the organization of the new kingdom of the Netherlands. As minister of education under William I. he reorganized the universities of Ghent, Louvain and Liége and the Royal Academy of Brussels. Side by side with his activities in education he directed the departments of trade and the colonies. Falck was called in Holland the king’s good genius, but William I. presently tired of his counsels and he was superseded by Van Maanen. He was ambassador in London when the disturbances of 1830 convinced him of the necessity of the separation of Belgium from Holland. He consequently resigned his post and lived in close retirement until 1839, when he became the first Dutch minister at the Belgian court. He died at Brussels on the 16th of March 1843. Besides some historical works he left a correspondence of considerable political interest, printed inBrieven van A.R. Falck, 1795-1843 (2nd ed. The Hague, 1861), andAmbtsbrieven van A.R. Falck(ibid.1878).
FALCÓN,the most northern state of Venezuela, with an extensive coast line on the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Venezuela. Pop. (1905 est.) 173,968. It lies between the Caribbean on the N. and the state of Lara on the S., with Zulia and the Gulf of Venezuela on the W. Its surface is much broken by irregular ranges of low mountains, and extensive areas on the coast are sandy plains and tropical swamps. The climate is hot, but, being tempered by the trade winds, is not considered unhealthy except in the swampy districts. The state is sparsely settled and has no large towns, its capital, Coro, being important chiefly because of its history, and as the entrepôt for an extensive inland district. The only port in the state is La Vela de Coro, on a small bay of the same name, 7 m. E. of the capital, with which it is connected by railway.
FALCON(Lat.Falco;1Fr.Faucon; Teutonic,FalkorValken), a word now restricted to the high-couraged and long-winged birds of prey which take their quarry as it moves; but formerly it had a very different meaning, being by the naturalists of the 18th and even of the 19th century extended to a great number of birds comprised in the genusFalcoof Linnaeus and writers of his day,2while, on the other hand, by falconers, it was, and still is, technically limited to thefemaleof the birds employed by them in their vocation (seeFalconry), whether “long-winged” and therefore “noble,” or “short-winged” and “ignoble.”
According to modern usage, the majority of the falcons, in the sense first given, may be separated intofivevery distinct groups: (1) the falcons pure and simple (Falcoproper); (2) the large northern falcons (Hierofalco, Cuvier); (3) the “desert falcons” (Gennaea, Kaup); (4) the merlins (Aesalon, Kaup); and (5) the hobbies (Hypotriorchis, Boie). A sixth group, the kestrels (Tinnunculus, Vieillot), is often added. This, however, appears to have been justifiably reckoned a distinct genus.
The typical falcon is by common consent allowed to be that almost cosmopolitan species to which unfortunately the English epithet “peregrine” (i.e.strange or wandering) has been attached. It is theFalco peregrinusof Tunstall (1771) and of most recent ornithologists, though some prefer the specific namecommunisapplied by J.F. Gmelin a few years later (1788) to a bird which, if his diagnosis be correct, could not have been a true falcon at all, since it had yellow irides—a colour never met with in the eyes of any bird now called by naturalists a “falcon.” This species inhabits suitable localities throughout the greater part of the globe, though examples from North America have by some received specific recognition asF. anatum(the “duck-hawk”), and those from Australia have been described as distinct under the name ofF. melanogenys. Here, as in so many other cases, it is almost impossible to decide as to which forms should, and which should not, be accounted merely local races. In size not surpassing a raven, this falcon (fig. 1) is perhaps the most powerful bird of prey for its bulk that flies, and its courage is not less than its power. It is the species, in Europe, most commonly trained for the sport of hawking (seeFalconry). Volumes have been written upon it, and to attempt a complete account of it is, within the limits now available, impossible. The plumage of the adult is generally blackish-blue above, and white, with a more or less deep cream-coloured tinge, beneath—the lower parts, except the chin and throat, being barred transversely with black, while a black patch extends from the bill to the ear-coverts, and descends on either side beneath the mandible. The young have the upper parts deep blackish-brown, and the lower white, more or less strongly tinged with ochraceous-brown, and striped longitudinally with blackish-brown. From Port Kennedy, the most northern part of the American continent, to Tasmania, and from the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk to Mendoza in the Argentine territory, there is scarcely a country in which this falcon has not been found. Specimens have been received from the Cape of Good Hope, and it is only a question of the technical differentiation of species whether it does not extend to Cape Horn. Fearless as it is, and adapting itself to almost every circumstance, it will form its eyry equally on the sea-washed cliffs, the craggy mountains, or (though more rarely) the drier spots of a marsh in the northern hemisphere, as on trees (says H. Schlegel) in the forests of Java or the waterless ravines of Australia. In the United Kingdom it was formerly very common, and hardly a high rock from the Shetlands to the Isle of Wightbut had a pair as its tenants. But the British gamekeeper has long held the mistaken faith that it is his worst foe, and the number of pairs now allowed to rear their brood unmolested in the British Islands is very small. Yet its utility to the game-preserver, by destroying every one of his most precious wards that shows any sign of infirmity, can hardly be questioned by reason, and G.E. Freeman (Falconry) has earnestly urged its claims to protection.3Nearly allied to this falcon are several species, such asF. barbarusof Mauretania,F. minorof South Africa, the AsiaticF. babylonicus,F. peregrinatorof India (the shaheen), and perhapsF. cassiniof South America, with some others.
Next to the typical falcons comes a group known as the “great northern” falcons (Hierofalco). Of these the most remarkable is the gyrfalcon (F. gyrfalco), whose home is in the Scandinavian mountains, though the young are yearly visitants to the plains of Holland and Germany. In plumage it very much resemblesF. peregrinus, but its flanks have generally a bluer tinge, and its superiority in size is at once manifest. Nearly allied to it is the Icelander (F. islandus), which externally differs in its paler colouring and in almost entirely wanting the black mandibular patch. Its proportions, however, differ a good deal, its body being elongated. Its country is shown by its name, but it also inhabits south Greenland, and not unfrequently makes its way to the British Islands. Very close to this comes the Greenland falcon (F. candicans), a native of north Greenland, and perhaps of other countries within the Arctic Circle. Like the last, the Greenland falcon from time to time occurs in the United Kingdom, but it is always to be distinguished by wearing a plumage in which at every age the prevailing colour is pure white. In north-eastern America these birds are replaced by a kindred form (F. labradorus), first detected by Audubon and subsequently recognized by Dresser (Orn. Miscell.i. 135). It is at once distinguished by its very dark colouring, the lower parts being occasionally almost as deeply tinted at all ages as the upper.
All the birds hitherto named possess one character in common. The darker markings of their plumage are longitudinal before the first real moult takes place, and for ever afterwards are transverse. 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 inF. 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. The next group is that of the so-called “desert falcons” (Gennaea), wherein the difference just indicated does not obtain, for long as the bird may live and often as it may moult, the original style of markings never gives way to any other. Foremost among these are to be considered the lanner and the saker (commonly termedF. lanariusandF. sacer), both well known in the palmy days of falconry, but only since about 1845 readmitted to full recognition. Both of these birds belong properly to south-eastern Europe, North Africa and south-western Asia. They are, for their bulk, less powerful than the members of the preceding group, and though they may be trained to high flights are naturally captors of humbler game. The precise number of species is very doubtful, but among the many candidates for recognition are especially to be named the lugger (F. jugger) of India, and the prairie falcon (F. mexicanus) of the western plains of North America.
The systematist finds it hard to decide in what group he should place two somewhat large Australian species (F. hypoleucusand F.subniger), both of which are rare in collections—the latter especially.
A small but very beautiful group comes next—the merlins4(Aesalonof some writers,Lithofalcoof others). The European merlin (F. aesalon) is perhaps the boldest of theAccipitres, not hesitating to attack birds of twice its own size, and even on occasion threatening human beings. Yet it readily becomes tame, if not affectionate, when reclaimed, and its ordinary prey consists of the smallerPasseres. Its “pinion of glossy blue” has become almost proverbial, and a deep ruddy blush suffuses its lower parts; but these are characteristic only of the male—the female maintaining very nearly the sober brown plumage she wore when as a nestling she left her lowly cradle in the heather. Very close to this bird comes the pigeon-hawk (F. columbarius) of North America—so close, indeed, that none but an expert ornithologist can detect the difference. The turumti of Anglo-Indians (F. chicquera), and its representative from southern Africa (F. ruficollis), also belong to this group, but they are considerably larger than either of the former.
Lastly, the Hobbies (Hypotriorchis) comprise a greater number of forms—though how many seems to be doubtful. They are in life at once recognizable by their bold upstanding position, and at any time by their long wings. The type of this group is the English hobby (F. subbuteo), a bird of great power of flight, chiefly shown in the capture of insects, which form itsordinary food. It is a summer visitant to most parts of Europe, including the British Islands, and is most wantonly and needlessly destroyed by gamekeepers. A second European species of the group is the beautifulF. eleonorae, which hardly comes farther north than the countries bordering the Mediterranean, and, though in some places abundant, is an extremely local bird. The largest species of this section seems to be the NeotropicalF. femoralis, forF. diroleucusthough often ranked here, is now supposed to belong to the group of typical falcons.
(A. N.)
1Unknown to classical writers, the earliest use of this word is said to be by Servius Honoratus (circaA.D.390-480) in his notes onAen.x. 145. It seems possibly to be the Latinized form of the TeutonicFalk, thoughfalxis commonly accounted its root.2The nomenclature of nearly all the older writers on this point is extremely confused. What many of them, even so lately as Pennant’s time, termed the “gentle falcon” is certainly the bird we now call the goshawk (i.e.goose-hawk), which name itself may have been transferred to theAstur palumbariusof modern ornithologists, from one of the long-winged birds of prey.3It is not to be inferred, as many writers have done, that falcons habitually prey upon birds in which disease has made any serious progress. Such birds meet their fate from the less nobleAccipitresor predatory animals of many kinds. But when a bird isfirstaffected by any disorder, its power of taking care of itself is at once impaired, and hence in the majority of cases it may become an easy victim under circumstances which would enable a perfectly sound bird to escape from the attack even of a falcon.4French,Émérillon; Icelandic,Smirill.
1Unknown to classical writers, the earliest use of this word is said to be by Servius Honoratus (circaA.D.390-480) in his notes onAen.x. 145. It seems possibly to be the Latinized form of the TeutonicFalk, thoughfalxis commonly accounted its root.
2The nomenclature of nearly all the older writers on this point is extremely confused. What many of them, even so lately as Pennant’s time, termed the “gentle falcon” is certainly the bird we now call the goshawk (i.e.goose-hawk), which name itself may have been transferred to theAstur palumbariusof modern ornithologists, from one of the long-winged birds of prey.
3It is not to be inferred, as many writers have done, that falcons habitually prey upon birds in which disease has made any serious progress. Such birds meet their fate from the less nobleAccipitresor predatory animals of many kinds. But when a bird isfirstaffected by any disorder, its power of taking care of itself is at once impaired, and hence in the majority of cases it may become an easy victim under circumstances which would enable a perfectly sound bird to escape from the attack even of a falcon.
4French,Émérillon; Icelandic,Smirill.
FALCONE, ANIELLO(1600-1665), Italian battle-painter, was the son of a tradesman, and was born in Naples. He showed his artistic tendency at an early age, received some instruction from a relative, and then studied under Ribera (Lo Spagnoletto), of whom he ranks as the most eminent pupil. Besides battle-pictures, large and small, taken from biblical as well as secular history, he painted various religious subjects, which, however, count for little in his general reputation. He became, as a battle-painter, almost as celebrated as Borgognone (Courtois), and was named “L’Oracolo delle Battaglie.” His works have animation, variety, truth to nature, and careful colour. Falcone was bold, generous, used to arms, and an excellent fencer. In the insurrection of Masaniello (1647) he resolved to be bloodily avenged for the death, at the hands of two Spaniards, of a nephew and of a pupil in the school of art which he had established in Naples. He and many of his scholars, including Salvator Rosa and Carlo Coppola, formed an armed band named theCompagnia della Morte(“Company of Death”; seeRosa, Salvator). They scoured the streets by day, exulting in slaughter; at night they were painters again, and handled the brush with impetuous zeal. Peace being restored, they had to decamp. Falcone and Rosa made off to Rome; here Borgognone noticed the works of Falcone, and became his friend, and a French gentleman induced him to go to France, where Louis XIV. became one of his patrons. Ultimately Colbert obtained permission for the painter to return to Naples, and there he died in 1665. Two of his battle-pieces are to be seen in the Louvre and in the Naples museum; he painted a portrait of Masaniello, and engraved a few plates. Among his principal scholars, besides Rosa and Coppola (whose works are sometimes ascribed to Falcone himself), were Domenico Gargiuolo (named Micco Spadaro), Paolo Porpora and Andrea di Lione.
FALCONER, HUGH(1808-1865), British palaeontologist and botanist, descended from an old Scottish family, was born at Forres on the 29th of February 1808. In 1826 he graduated at Aberdeen, where he manifested a taste for the study of natural history. He afterwards studied medicine in the university of Edinburgh, taking the degree of M.D. in 1829; during this period he zealously attended the botanical classes of Prof. R. Graham (1786-1845), and those on geology by Prof. R. Jameson. Proceeding to India in 1830 as assistant-surgeon on the Bengal establishment of the East India Company, he made on his arrival an examination of the fossil bones from Ava in the possession of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and his description of the collection, published soon afterwards, gave him a recognized position among the scientists of India. Early in 1831 he was appointed to the army station at Meerut, in the Northwestern Provinces, but in the same year he was asked to officiate as superintendent of the botanic garden of Saharanpur, during the ill-health and absence of Dr J.F. Royle; and in 1832 he succeeded to this post. He was thus placed in a district that proved to be rich in palaeontological remains; and he set to work to investigate its natural history and geology. In 1834 he published a geological description of the Siwalik hills, in the Tertiary strata of which he had in 1831 discovered bones of crocodiles, tortoises and other animals; and subsequently, with conjoint labourers, he brought to light a sub-tropical fossil fauna of unexampled extent and richness, including remains ofMastodon, the colossal ruminantSivatherium, and the enormous tortoiseColossochelys Atlas. For these valuable discoveries he and Captain (afterwards Sir Proby T.) Cautley (1802-1871) received in 1837 the Wollaston medal in duplicate from the Geological Society of London. In 1834 Falconer was appointed to inquire into the fitness of India for the growth of the tea-plant, and it was on his recommendation that it was introduced into that country.
He was compelled by illness to leave India in 1842, and during his stay in England he occupied himself with the classification and arrangement of the Indian fossils presented to the British Museum and East India House, chiefly by himself and Sir Proby T. Cautley. He then set to work to edit the great memoir by Cautley and himself, entitledFauna Antiqua Sivalensis, of which Part I. text was issued in 1846, and a series of 107 plates during the years 1846-1849. Unfortunately the work, owing partly to Dr Falconer’s absence from England and partly to ill-health, was never completed. He was elected F.R.S. in 1845. In 1847 he was appointed superintendent of the Calcutta botanical garden, and professor of botany in the medical college; and on entering on his duties in the following year he was at once employed by the Indian government and the Agricultural and Horticultural Society as their adviser on all matters connected with the vegetable products of India. He prepared an important report on the teak forests of Tenasserim, and this was the means of saving them from destruction by reckless felling; and through his recommendation the cultivation of the cinchona bark was introduced into the Indian empire. Being compelled by the state of his health to leave India in 1855, he spent the remainder of his life chiefly in examining fossil species in England and the Continent corresponding to those which he had discovered in India, notably the species of mastodon, elephant and rhinoceros; he also described some new mammalia from the Purbeck strata, and he reported on the bone-caves of Sicily, Gibraltar, Gower and Brixham. In the course of his researches he became interested in the question of the antiquity of the human race, and actually commenced a work on “Primeval Man,” which, however, he did not live to finish. He died on the 31st of January 1865. Shortly after his death a committee was formed for the promotion of a “Falconer Memorial.” This took the shape of a marble bust, which was placed in the rooms of the Royal Society of London, and of a Falconer scholarship of the annual value of £100, open for competition to graduates in science or medicine of the university of Edinburgh.
Dr Falconer’s botanical notes, with 450 coloured drawings of Kashmir and Indian plants, have been deposited in the library at Kew Gardens, and hisPalaeontological Memoirs and Notes, comprising all his papers read before learned societies, have been edited, with a biographical sketch, by Charles Murchison, M.D. (London, 1868). Many reminiscences of Dr Falconer, and a portrait of him, were published by his niece, Grace, Lady Prestwich, in herEssays descriptive and biographical(1901).
Dr Falconer’s botanical notes, with 450 coloured drawings of Kashmir and Indian plants, have been deposited in the library at Kew Gardens, and hisPalaeontological Memoirs and Notes, comprising all his papers read before learned societies, have been edited, with a biographical sketch, by Charles Murchison, M.D. (London, 1868). Many reminiscences of Dr Falconer, and a portrait of him, were published by his niece, Grace, Lady Prestwich, in herEssays descriptive and biographical(1901).
FALCONER, WILLIAM(1732-1760), British poet, was born in Edinburgh on the 11th of February 1732. His father was a wig-maker, and carried on business in one of the small shops with wooden fronts at the Netherbow Port, an antique castellated structure which remained till 1764, dividing High Street from the Canongate. The old man became bankrupt, then tried business as a grocer, and finally died in extreme poverty. William, the son, having received a scanty education, was put to sea. He served on board a Leith merchant vessel, and in his eighteenth year obtained the appointment of second mate of the “Britannia,” a vessel employed in the Levant trade, and sailed from Alexandria for Venice. The “Britannia” was overtaken by a dreadful storm off Cape Colonna and was wrecked, only three of the crew being saved. Falconer was happily one of the three, and the incidents of the voyage and its disastrous termination formed the subject of his poem ofThe Shipwreck(1762). Meanwhile, on his return to England, Falconer, in his nineteenth year, printed at Edinburgh an elegy on Frederick, prince of Wales, and afterwards contributed short pieces to theGentleman’s Magazine. Some of these descriptive and lyrical effusions possess merit. The fine naval song of “The Storm” (“Cease, rude Boreas”), reputed to be by George Alexander Stevens, the dramatic writer and lecturer, has been ascribed to Falconer, but apparently on no authority. The duke of York, to whomThe Shipwreckhad been dedicated, advised Falconerto enter the royal navy, and before the end of 1762 the poet-sailor was rated as a midshipman on board the “Royal George.” But as this ship was paid off at the peace of 1763, Falconer received an appointment as purser of the “Glory” frigate, a situation which he held until that vessel was laid up on ordinary at Chatham. In 1764 he published a new and enlarged edition ofThe Shipwreck, and in the same year a rhymed political tirade against John Wilkes and Charles Churchill, entitledThe Demagogue. In 1769 appeared hisUniversal Marine Dictionary, in whichretreatis defined as a French manœuvre, “not properly a term of the British marine.” While engaged on this dictionary, J. Murray, a bookseller in Fleet Street, father of Byron’s munificent publisher and correspondent, wished him to join him as a partner in business. The poet declined the offer, and became purser of the “Aurora” frigate, which had been commissioned to carry out to India certain supervisors or superintendents of the East India Company. Besides his nomination as purser, Falconer was promised the post of private secretary to the commissioners. Before sailing he published a third edition of hisShipwreck, which had again undergone “correction,” but not improvement. The poet sailed in the “Aurora” from Spithead on the 20th of September 1769. The vessel arrived safely at the Cape of Good Hope, and left on the 27th of December. She was never more heard of, having, as is supposed, foundered at sea.The Shipwreck, the poem with which Falconer’s name is connected, had a great reputation at one time, but the fine passages which pleased the earlier critics have not saved it from general oblivion.
See hisPoetical Worksin the “Aldine Edition” (1836), with a life by J. Mitford.
See hisPoetical Worksin the “Aldine Edition” (1836), with a life by J. Mitford.
FALCONET, ÉTIENNE MAURICE(1716-1791), French sculptor, was born in Paris. His parents were poor, and he was at first apprenticed to a carpenter, but some of his clay-figures, with the making of which he occupied his leisure hours, attracted the notice of the sculptor Lemoine, who made him his pupil. He found time to study Greek and Latin, and also wrote severalbrochureson art. His artistic productions are characterized by the same defects as his writings, for though manifesting considerable cleverness and some power of imagination, they display in many cases a false and fantastic taste, the result, most probably, of an excessive striving after originality. One of his most successful statues was one of Milo of Crotona, which secured his admission to the membership of the Academy of Fine Arts in 1754. At the invitation of the empress Catherine he went in 1766 to St Petersburg, where he executed a colossal statue of Peter the Great in bronze. In 1788 he became director of the French Academy of Painting. Many of Falconet’s works, being placed in churches, were destroyed at the time of the French Revolution. His “Nymphe descendant au bain” is in the Louvre.
Among his writings areReflexions sur la sculpture(Paris, 1768), andObservations sur la statue de Marc-Aurèle(Paris, 1771). The whole were collected under the title ofŒuvres littéraires(6 vols., Lausanne, 1781-1782; 3 vols., Paris, 1787).
Among his writings areReflexions sur la sculpture(Paris, 1768), andObservations sur la statue de Marc-Aurèle(Paris, 1771). The whole were collected under the title ofŒuvres littéraires(6 vols., Lausanne, 1781-1782; 3 vols., Paris, 1787).
FALCONRY(Fr.fauconnerie, from Late Lat.falco, falcon), the art of employing falcons and hawks in the chase, often termedHawking. Falconry was for many ages one of the principal sports of the richer classes, and, since many more efficacious methods and appliances for the capture of game undoubtedly existed, it is probable that it has always been carried on as a pure sport. The antiquity of falconry is very great. There appears to be little doubt that it was practised in Asia at a very remote period, for which we have the concurrent testimony of various Chinese and Japanese works, some of the latter being most quaintly and yet spiritedly illustrated. It appears to have been known in China some 2000 yearsB.C., and the records of a king Wen Wang, who reigned over a province of that country 689B.C., prove that the art was at that time in very high favour. In Japan it appears to have been known at least 600 yearsB.C., and probably at an equally early date in India, Arabia, Persia and Syria. Sir A.H. Layard, in hisNineveh and Babylon, considered that in a bas-relief found by him in the ruins of Khorsabad “there appeared to be a falconer bearing a hawk on his wrist,” from which it would appear to have been known there some 1700 yearsB.C.In all the above-mentioned countries of Asia it is practised at the present day.
Little is known of the early history of falconry in Africa, but from very ancient Egyptian carvings and drawings it seems to have been known there many ages ago. It was probably also in vogue in the countries of Morocco, Oran, Algiers, Tunis and Egypt, at the same time as in Europe. The older writers on falconry, English and continental, often mention Barbary and Tunisian falcons. It is still practised in Egypt.
Perhaps the oldest records of falconry in Europe are supplied by the writings of Pliny, Aristotle and Martial. Although their notices of the sport are slight and somewhat vague, yet they are quite sufficient to show clearly that it was practised in their days—between the years 384B.C.andA.D.40. It was probably introduced into England from the continent aboutA.D.860, and from that time down to the middle of the 17th century falconry was followed with an ardour that perhaps no English sport has ever called forth, not even fox-hunting. Stringent laws and enactments, notably in the reigns of William the Conqueror, Edward III., Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, were passed from time to time in its interest. Falcons and hawks were allotted to degrees and orders of men according to rank and station—for instance, to the emperor the eagle and vulture, to royalty the jerfalcons, to an earl the peregrine, to a yeoman the goshawk, to a priest the sparrow-hawk, and to a knave or servant the useless kestrel. The writings of Shakespeare furnish ample testimony to the high and universal estimation in which it was held in his days. About the middle of the 17th century falconry began to decline in England, to revive somewhat at the Restoration. It never, however, completely recovered its former favour, a variety of causes operating against it, such as enclosure of waste lands, agricultural improvements, and the introduction of fire-arms into the sporting field, till it fell, as a national sport, almost into oblivion. Yet it has never been even temporarily extinct, and it is successfully practised even at the present day.
In Europe the game or “quarry” at which hawks are flown consists of grouse (confined to the British Isles), black-game, pheasants, partridges, quails, landrails, ducks, teal, woodcocks, snipes, herons, rooks, crows, gulls, magpies, jays, blackbirds, thrushes, larks, hares and rabbits. In former days geese, cranes, kites, ravens and bustards were also flown at. Old German works make much mention of the use of the Iceland falcon for taking the great bustard, a flight scarcely alluded to by English writers. In Asia the list of quarry is longer, and, in addition to all the foregoing, or their Asiatic representatives, various kinds of bustards, sand grouse, storks, ibises, spoonbills, pea-fowl, jungle-fowl, kites, vultures and gazelles are captured by trained hawks. In Mongolia and Chinese Tartary, and among the nomad tribes of central Asia, the sport still flourishes; and though some late accounts are not satisfactory either to the falconer or the naturalist, yet they leave no doubt that a species of eagle is still trained in those regions to take large game, as antelopes and wolves. Mr Atkinson, in his account of his travels in the country of the Amur, makes particular mention of the sport, as does also Mr Shaw in his work on Yarkand; and in a letter from the Yarkand embassy, under Mr Forsyth, C.B., dated Camp near Yarkand, Nov. 27, 1873, the following passage occurs:—“Hawking appears also to be a favourite amusement, the golden eagle taking the place of the falcon or hawk. This novel sport seemed very successful.” It is questionable whether the bird here spoken of is the golden eagle. In Africa gazelles are taken, and also partridges and wild-fowl.
The hawks used in England are the three great northern falcons, viz. the Greenland, Iceland and Norway falcons, the peregrine falcon, the hobby, the merlin, the goshawk and the sparrow-hawk. In former days the saker, the lanner and the Barbary or Tunisian falcon were also employed. (SeeFalcon.)
Of the foregoing the easiest to keep, most efficient in the field, and most suitable for general use are the peregrine falcon and the goshawk.
In all hawks, the female is larger and more powerful than the male.
Hawks are divided by falconers all over the world into two great classes. The first class comprises “falcons,”i.e.“long-winged hawks,” or “hawks of the lure,” distinguished by Eastern falconers as “dark-eyed hawks.” In these the wings are pointed, the second feather in the wing is the longest, and the iris is of a deep, dark-brown hue. Merlins must, however, be excepted; and here it would seem that the Eastern distinction is the better, for though merlins are much more falcons than they are hawks, they differ from falcons in having the third feather in the wing the longest, while they are certainly “dark-eyed hawks.”
The second class is that of “hawks,”i.e.“short-winged hawks,” or “hawks of the fist,” called by Eastern falconers “yellow (or rose) eyed hawks.” In these the wings are rounded, the fourth feather is the longest in the wing, and the iris is yellow, orange or deep-orange.
The following glossary of the principal terms used in falconry may assist the reader in perusing this notice of the practice of the art. Useless or obsolete terms are omitted:—
Austringan.—A falconer.Bate.—A hawk is said to “bate” when she flutters off from the fist, perch or block, whether from wildness, or for exercise, or in the attempt to chase.Bewits.—Straps of leather by which the bells are fastened to a hawk’s legs.Bind.—A hawk is said to “bind” when she seizes a bird in the air and clings to it.Block.—The conical piece of wood, of the form of an inverted flower-pot, used for hawks to sit upon; for a peregrine it should be about 10 to 12 in. high, 5 to 6 in diameter at top, and 8 to 9 in diameter at base.Brail.—A thong of soft leather used to secure, when desirable, the wing of a hawk. It has a slit to admit the pinion joint, and the ends are tied together.Cadge.—The wooden frame on which hawks, when numerous, are carried to the field.Cadger.—The person who carries the cadge.Calling off.—Luring a hawk (seeLure) from the hand of an assistant.Carry.—A hawk is said to “carry” when she flies away with the quarry on the approach of the falconer.Cast.—Two hawks which may be used for flying together are called a “cast,” not necessarily a pair.Casting.—The oblong or egg-shaped ball, consisting of feathers, bones, &c., which all hawks (and insectivorous birds) throw up after the nutritious part of their food has been digested. Also the fur or feathers given them to assist the process.Cere.—The naked wax-like skin above the beak.Check.—A hawk is said to fly at “check” when she flies at a bird other than the intended object of pursuit.Clutching.—Taking the quarry in the feet as the short-winged hawks do. Falcons occasionally “clutch.”Come to.—A hawk is said to “come to” when she begins to get tame.Coping.—Cutting the beak or talons of a hawk.Crab.—To fight.Creance.—A long line or string.Crop, to put away.—A hawk is said to “put away her crop” when the food passes out of the crop into the stomach.Deck feathers.—The two centre tail-feathers.Eyas.—A hawk which has been brought up from the nest (nyas, from Fr.niais).Eyry.—The nest of a hawk.Foot.—A hawk is said to “foot” well or to be a “good footer” when she is successful in killing. Many hawks are very fine fliers without being “good footers.”Frounce.—A disease in the mouth and throat of hawks.Get in.—To go up to a hawk when she has killed her quarry.Hack.—The state of partial liberty in which young hawks must always at first be kept.Haggard.—A wild-caught hawk in the adult plumage.Hood.—(See fig.)Hoodshy.—A hawk is said to be “hoodshy” when she is afraid of, or resists, having her hood put on.Hunger trace.—A mark, and a defect, in the tail feathers, denoting a weak point; generally due to temporary starvation as a nestling.Imping.—The process of mending broken feathers is called “imping.” (See fig.)Imping needle.—A piece of tough soft iron wire from about 1½ to 2½ in. long, rough filed so as to be three-sided and tapering from the middle to the ends. (See fig.)Intermewed.—A hawk moulted in confinement is said to be “intermewed.”Jack.—Mate of the merlin.Jerkin.—Mate of the jerfalcon.Jesses.—Strips of light but very tough leather, some 6 to 8 in. long, which always remain on a hawk’s legs—one on each leg. (See fig.)Jonk.—To sleep.Leash.—A strong leathern thong, some 2½ or 3 ft. long, with a knot or button at one end, used to secure a hawk. (See fig.)Lure.—The instrument used for calling long-winged hawks—a dead pigeon, or an artificial lure made of leather and feathers or wings of birds, tied to a string, with meat attached to it.Mail.—The breast feathers.Make hawk.—A hawk is called a “make hawk” when, as a thoroughly trained and steady hawk, she is flown with young ones to teach them their work.Man a hawk.—To tame a hawk and accustom her to strangers.
Austringan.—A falconer.
Bate.—A hawk is said to “bate” when she flutters off from the fist, perch or block, whether from wildness, or for exercise, or in the attempt to chase.
Bewits.—Straps of leather by which the bells are fastened to a hawk’s legs.
Bind.—A hawk is said to “bind” when she seizes a bird in the air and clings to it.
Block.—The conical piece of wood, of the form of an inverted flower-pot, used for hawks to sit upon; for a peregrine it should be about 10 to 12 in. high, 5 to 6 in diameter at top, and 8 to 9 in diameter at base.
Brail.—A thong of soft leather used to secure, when desirable, the wing of a hawk. It has a slit to admit the pinion joint, and the ends are tied together.
Cadge.—The wooden frame on which hawks, when numerous, are carried to the field.
Cadger.—The person who carries the cadge.
Calling off.—Luring a hawk (seeLure) from the hand of an assistant.
Carry.—A hawk is said to “carry” when she flies away with the quarry on the approach of the falconer.
Cast.—Two hawks which may be used for flying together are called a “cast,” not necessarily a pair.
Casting.—The oblong or egg-shaped ball, consisting of feathers, bones, &c., which all hawks (and insectivorous birds) throw up after the nutritious part of their food has been digested. Also the fur or feathers given them to assist the process.
Cere.—The naked wax-like skin above the beak.
Check.—A hawk is said to fly at “check” when she flies at a bird other than the intended object of pursuit.
Clutching.—Taking the quarry in the feet as the short-winged hawks do. Falcons occasionally “clutch.”
Come to.—A hawk is said to “come to” when she begins to get tame.
Coping.—Cutting the beak or talons of a hawk.
Crab.—To fight.
Creance.—A long line or string.
Crop, to put away.—A hawk is said to “put away her crop” when the food passes out of the crop into the stomach.
Deck feathers.—The two centre tail-feathers.
Eyas.—A hawk which has been brought up from the nest (nyas, from Fr.niais).
Eyry.—The nest of a hawk.
Foot.—A hawk is said to “foot” well or to be a “good footer” when she is successful in killing. Many hawks are very fine fliers without being “good footers.”
Frounce.—A disease in the mouth and throat of hawks.
Get in.—To go up to a hawk when she has killed her quarry.
Hack.—The state of partial liberty in which young hawks must always at first be kept.
Haggard.—A wild-caught hawk in the adult plumage.
Hood.—(See fig.)
Hoodshy.—A hawk is said to be “hoodshy” when she is afraid of, or resists, having her hood put on.
Hunger trace.—A mark, and a defect, in the tail feathers, denoting a weak point; generally due to temporary starvation as a nestling.
Imping.—The process of mending broken feathers is called “imping.” (See fig.)
Imping needle.—A piece of tough soft iron wire from about 1½ to 2½ in. long, rough filed so as to be three-sided and tapering from the middle to the ends. (See fig.)
Intermewed.—A hawk moulted in confinement is said to be “intermewed.”
Jack.—Mate of the merlin.
Jerkin.—Mate of the jerfalcon.
Jesses.—Strips of light but very tough leather, some 6 to 8 in. long, which always remain on a hawk’s legs—one on each leg. (See fig.)
Jonk.—To sleep.
Leash.—A strong leathern thong, some 2½ or 3 ft. long, with a knot or button at one end, used to secure a hawk. (See fig.)
Lure.—The instrument used for calling long-winged hawks—a dead pigeon, or an artificial lure made of leather and feathers or wings of birds, tied to a string, with meat attached to it.
Mail.—The breast feathers.
Make hawk.—A hawk is called a “make hawk” when, as a thoroughly trained and steady hawk, she is flown with young ones to teach them their work.
Man a hawk.—To tame a hawk and accustom her to strangers.
1. Hood.
2. Back view of hood, showing bracesa, a, b, b; by drawing the bracesb, b, the hood, now open, is closed.
3. Rufter hood.
4. Imping-needle.
5. Jess;dis the space for the hawk’s leg; the point and slita, aare brought round the leg, and passed through slitb, after which the pointcand slitc, and also the whole remaining length of jess, are pulled through slitsaandb;cis the slit to which the upper ring of swivel is attached.
6. Hawk’s leg with bell a, bewitb, jessc.
7. Jesses, swivel and leash.
8. Portion of first wing-feather of male peregrine falcon, “tiercel,” half natural size, in process of imping;a, the living hawk’s feather;b, piece supplied from another tiercel, with the imping needlecpushed half its length into it and ready to be pushed home into the living bird’s feather.
Mantle.—A hawk is said to “mantle” when she stretches out a leg and a wing simultaneously, a common action of hawks when at ease; also when she spreads out her wings and feathers to hide any quarry or food she may have seized from another hawk, or from man. In the last case it is a fault.Mew.—A hawk is said to “mew” when she moults. The place where a hawk was kept to moult was in olden times called her “mew.” Buildings where establishments of hawks were kept were called “mews.”Musket.—Male of the sparrow-hawk.Mutes(mutings).—Excrement of hawk.Pannel.—The stomach of a hawk, corresponding with the gizzard of a fowl, is called her pannel. In it the casting is formed.Passage.—The line herons take over a tract of country on their way to and from the heronry when procuring food in the breeding season.Passage hawks.—Hawks captured when on their passage or migration.Pelt.—The dead body of any quarry the hawk has killed.Pitch.—The height to which a hawk, when waiting for game to be flushed, rises in the air.Plume.—A hawk is said to “plume” a bird when she pulls off the feathers.Point.—A hawk “makes her point” when she rises in the air over the spot where quarry has saved itself from capture by dashing into a hedge, or has otherwise secreted itself.Pounces.—A hawk’s claws.Pull through the hood.—A hawk is said to pull through the hood when she eats with it on.Put in.—A bird is said to “put in” when it saves itself from the hawk by dashing into covert or other place of security.Quarry.—The bird or beast flown at.Rake out.—A hawk is said to “rake out” when she flies, while “waiting on” (seeWait on), too far and wide from her master.Ramage.—Wild.Red hawk.—Hawks of the first year, in the young plumage, are called “red hawks.”Ringing.—A bird is said to “ring” when it rises spirally in the air.Rufter hood.—An easy fitting hood, not, however, convenient for hooding and unhooding—used only for hawks when first captured. (See fig.)Sails.—The wings of a hawk.Seeling.—Closing the eyes by a fine thread drawn through the lid of each eye, the threads being then twisted together above the head—a practice long disused in England.Serving a hawk.—Driving out quarry which has taken refuge, or has “put in.”Stoop.—The hawk’s rapid plunge upon the quarry.Take the air.—A bird is said to “take the air” when it seeks to escape by trying to rise higher than the falcon.Tiercel.—The male of various falcons, particularly of the peregrine, alsotarcell,tassellortercel; the term is also applied to the male of the goshawk.Trussing.—A hawk is said to “truss” a bird when she catches it in the air, and comes to the ground with it in her talons: this term is not applied to large quarry. (SeeBind.)Varvels.—Small rings, generally of silver, fastened to the end of the jesses, and engraved with the owner’s name.Wait on.—A hawk is said to “wait on” when she flies above her master waiting till game is sprung.Weathering.—Hawks are “weathered” by being placed unhooded in the open air. Passage hawks which are not sufficiently reclaimed to be left out by themselves unhooded on blocks are “weathered” by being put out for an hour or two under the falconer’s eye.Yarak.—An Eastern term, generally applied to short-winged hawks. When a hawk is keen, and in hunting condition, she is said to be “in yarak.”
Mantle.—A hawk is said to “mantle” when she stretches out a leg and a wing simultaneously, a common action of hawks when at ease; also when she spreads out her wings and feathers to hide any quarry or food she may have seized from another hawk, or from man. In the last case it is a fault.
Mew.—A hawk is said to “mew” when she moults. The place where a hawk was kept to moult was in olden times called her “mew.” Buildings where establishments of hawks were kept were called “mews.”
Musket.—Male of the sparrow-hawk.
Mutes(mutings).—Excrement of hawk.
Pannel.—The stomach of a hawk, corresponding with the gizzard of a fowl, is called her pannel. In it the casting is formed.
Passage.—The line herons take over a tract of country on their way to and from the heronry when procuring food in the breeding season.
Passage hawks.—Hawks captured when on their passage or migration.
Pelt.—The dead body of any quarry the hawk has killed.
Pitch.—The height to which a hawk, when waiting for game to be flushed, rises in the air.
Plume.—A hawk is said to “plume” a bird when she pulls off the feathers.
Point.—A hawk “makes her point” when she rises in the air over the spot where quarry has saved itself from capture by dashing into a hedge, or has otherwise secreted itself.
Pounces.—A hawk’s claws.
Pull through the hood.—A hawk is said to pull through the hood when she eats with it on.
Put in.—A bird is said to “put in” when it saves itself from the hawk by dashing into covert or other place of security.
Quarry.—The bird or beast flown at.
Rake out.—A hawk is said to “rake out” when she flies, while “waiting on” (seeWait on), too far and wide from her master.
Ramage.—Wild.
Red hawk.—Hawks of the first year, in the young plumage, are called “red hawks.”
Ringing.—A bird is said to “ring” when it rises spirally in the air.
Rufter hood.—An easy fitting hood, not, however, convenient for hooding and unhooding—used only for hawks when first captured. (See fig.)
Sails.—The wings of a hawk.
Seeling.—Closing the eyes by a fine thread drawn through the lid of each eye, the threads being then twisted together above the head—a practice long disused in England.
Serving a hawk.—Driving out quarry which has taken refuge, or has “put in.”
Stoop.—The hawk’s rapid plunge upon the quarry.
Take the air.—A bird is said to “take the air” when it seeks to escape by trying to rise higher than the falcon.
Tiercel.—The male of various falcons, particularly of the peregrine, alsotarcell,tassellortercel; the term is also applied to the male of the goshawk.
Trussing.—A hawk is said to “truss” a bird when she catches it in the air, and comes to the ground with it in her talons: this term is not applied to large quarry. (SeeBind.)
Varvels.—Small rings, generally of silver, fastened to the end of the jesses, and engraved with the owner’s name.
Wait on.—A hawk is said to “wait on” when she flies above her master waiting till game is sprung.
Weathering.—Hawks are “weathered” by being placed unhooded in the open air. Passage hawks which are not sufficiently reclaimed to be left out by themselves unhooded on blocks are “weathered” by being put out for an hour or two under the falconer’s eye.
Yarak.—An Eastern term, generally applied to short-winged hawks. When a hawk is keen, and in hunting condition, she is said to be “in yarak.”
The training of hawks affords much scope for judgment, experience and skill on the part of the falconer, who must carefully observe the temper and disposition as well as the constitution of each bird. It is through the appetite principally that hawks, like most wild animals, are tamed; but to fit them for use in the field much patience, gentleness and care must be used. Slovenly taming necessitates starving, and low condition and weakness are the result. 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. The following is an outline of the process of training hawks, beginning with the management of a wild-caught peregrine falcon. When first taken, a rufter hood should be put on her head, and she must be furnished with jesses, swivel, leash and bell. A thick glove or rather gauntlet must be worn on the left hand (Eastern falconers always carry a hawk on the right), and she must be carried about as much as possible, late into the night, every day, being constantly stroked with a bird’s wing or feather, very lightly at first. At night she should be tied to a perch in a room with the window darkened, so that no light can enter in the morning. The perch should be a padded pole placed across the room, about 4½ ft. from the ground, with a canvas screen underneath. She will easily be induced to feed in most cases by drawing a piece of beefsteak over her feet, brushing her legs at the time with a wing, and now and then, as she snaps, slipping a morsel into her mouth. Care must be taken to make a peculiar sound with the lips or tongue, or to use a low whistle as she is in the act of swallowing; she will very soon learn to associate this sound with feeding, and it will be found that directly she hears it, she will gripe with her talons, and bend down to feel for food. When the falconer perceives this and other signs of her “coming to,” that she no longer starts at the voice or touch, and steps quietly up from the perch when the hand is placed under her feet, it will be time to change her rufter hood for the ordinary hood. This latter should be very carefully chosen—an easy fitting one, in which the braces draw closely and yet easily and without jerking. An old one previously worn is to be recommended. The hawk should be taken into a very dark room—one absolutely dark is best—and the change should be made if possible in total darkness. After this she must be brought to feed with her hood off; at first she must be fed every day in a darkened room, a gleam of light being admitted. The first day, the hawk having seized the food and begun to pull at it freely, the hood must be gently slipped off, and after she has eaten a moderate quantity, it must be replaced as slowly and gently as possible, and she should be allowed to finish her meal through the hood. Next day the hood may be twice removed, and so on; day by day the practice should be continued, and more light gradually admitted, until the hawk will feed freely in broad daylight, and suffer the hood to be taken off and replaced without opposition. Next she must be accustomed to see and feed in the presence of strangers and dogs, &c. A good plan is to carry her in the streets of a town at night, at first where the gas-light is not strong, and where persons passing by are few, unhooding and hooding her from time to time, but not letting her get frightened. Up to this time she should be fed on lean beefsteak with no castings, but as soon as she is tolerably tame and submits well to the hood, she must occasionally be fed with pigeons and other birds. This should be done not later than 3 or 4P.M., and when she is placed on her perch for the night in the dark room, she must be unhooded and left so, of course being carefully tied up. The falconer should enter the room about 7 or 8A.M.next day, admitting as little light as possible, or using a candle. He should first observe if she has thrown her casting; if so, he will at once take her to the fist, giving her a bite of food, and re-hood her. If her casting is not thrown it is better for him to retire, leaving the room quite dark, and come in again later. She must now be taught to know the voice—the shout that is used to call her in the field—and to jump to the fist for food, the voice being used every time she is fed. When she comes freely to the fist she must be made acquainted with the lure. 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. This treatment will help to check her inclination hereafter to carry her quarry. 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. or so without hesitation; then she may be trusted to fly to the lure at liberty, and by degrees from any distance, say 1000 yds. This accomplished, she should learn to stoop at the lure. Instead of allowing the hawk to seize upon it as she comes up, the falconer should snatch the lure away and let her pass by, and immediately put it out that she may readily seize it when she turns round to look for it. This should be done at first only once, and then progressively until she will stoop backwards and forwards at the lure as often as desired. Next she should be entered at her quarry. Should she be intended for rooks or herons, two or three of these birds should be procured. One should be given her from the hand, then one should be released close to her, and a third at a considerable distance. If she take these keenly, she may be flown at a wild bird. Care must, however, be taken tolet her have every possible advantage in her first flights—wind and weather, and the position of the quarry with regard to the surrounding country, must be considered.
Young hawks, on being received by the falconer before they can fly, must be put into a sheltered place, such as an outhouse or shed. Their basket or hamper should be filled with straw. A hamper is best, with the lid so placed as to form a platform for the young hawks to come out upon to feed. This should be fastened to a beam or prop a few feet from the ground. 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. As soon as one fails to come for a meal, it must be at once caught with a bow net or a snare the first time it comes back, or it will be lost. It must be borne in mind that the longer hawks can be left at hack the better they are likely to be for use in the field—those hawks being always the best which have preyed a few times for themselves before being caught. Of course there is great risk of losing hawks when they begin to prey for themselves. When a hawk is so caught she is said to be “taken up” from hack. She will not require a rufter hood, but a good deal of the management described for the passage falcon will be necessary. She must be carefully tamed and broken to the hood in the same manner, and so taught to know the lure; but, as might be expected, very much less difficulty will be experienced. As soon as the eyas knows the lure sufficiently well to come to it sharp and straight from a distance, she must be taught to “wait on.” This is effected by letting the hawk loose in an open place, such as a down. 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. Young peregrines should be flown at grouse first in preference to partridges, not only because the season commences earlier, but because, grouse being the heavier birds, they are not so much tempted to “carry” as with partridges.
The training of the great northern falcons, as well as that of merlins and hobbies, is conducted much on the above principles, but the jerfalcons (gerfalcons or gyrfalcons) will seldom wait on well, and merlins will not do it at all.
The training of short-winged hawks is a simpler process. They must, like falcons, be provided with jesses, swivel, leash and bell. In these hawks a bell is sometimes fastened to the tail. Sparrow-hawks can, however, scarcely carry a bell big enough to be of any service. The hood is seldom used for short-winged hawks—never in the field. They must be made as tame as possible by carriage on the fist and the society of man, and taught to come to the fist freely when required—at first to jump to it in a room, and then out of doors. When the goshawk comes freely and without hesitation from short distances, she ought to be called from long distances from the hand of an assistant, but not oftener than twice in each meal, until she will come at least 1000 yds., on each occasion being well rewarded with some food she likes very much, as a fresh-killed bird, warm. When she does this freely, and endures the presence of strangers, dogs, &c., a few bagged rabbits should be given to her, and she will be ready to take the field. Some accustom the goshawk to the use of the lure, for the purpose of taking her if she will not come to the fist in the field when she has taken stand in a tree after being baulked of her quarry, but it ought not to be necessary to use it.
Falcons or long-winged hawks are either “flown out of the hood,”i.e.unhooded and slipped when the quarry is in sight, or they are made to “wait on” till game is flushed. Herons and rooks are always taken by the former method. Passage hawks are generally employed for flying at these birds, though sometimes good eyases are quite equal to the work. For heron-hawking a well-stocked heronry is in the first place necessary. Next an open country which can be ridden over—over which herons are in the constant habit of passing to and from their heronry on their fishing excursions, or making their “passage.” A heron found at his feeding-place at a brook or pond affords no sport whatever. If there be little water any peregrine falcon that will go straight at him will seize him soon after he rises. It is sometimes advisable to fly a young falcon at a heron so found, but it should not be repeated. If there be much water the heron will neither show sport nor be captured. It is quite a different affair when he is sighted winging his way at a height in the air over an open tract of country free from water. Though he has no chance whatever of competing with a falcon in straightforward flight, the heron has large concave wings, a very light body proportionately, and air-cells in his bones, and can rise with astonishing rapidity, more perpendicularly, or, in other words, in smaller rings, than the falcon can, with very little effort. As soon as he sees the approach of the falcon, which he usually does almost directly she is cast off, he makes play for the upper regions. Then the falcon commences to climb too to get above him, but in a very different style. She makes very large circles or rings, travelling at a high rate of speed, due to her strength and weight and power of flying, till she rises above the heron. Then she makes her attack by stooping with great force at the quarry, sometimes falling so far below it as the blow is evaded that she cannot spring up to the proper pitch for the next stoop, and has to make another ring to regain her lost command over the heron, which is ever rising, and so on—the “field” meanwhile galloping down wind in the direction the flight is taking till she seizes the heron aloft, “binds” to him, and both come down together. Absurd stories have been told and pictures drawn of the heron receiving the falcon on its beak in the air. It is, however, well known to all practical falconers that the heron has no power or inclination to fight with a falcon in the air; so long as he is flying he seeks safety solely from his wings. When on the ground, however, should the falcon be deficient in skill or strength, or have been mutilated by the coping of her beak and talons, as was sometimes formerly done in Holland with a view to saving the heron’s life, the heron may use his dagger-like bill with dangerous effect, though it is very rare for a falcon to be injured. It is never safe to fly the goshawk at a heron of any description. Short-winged hawks do not immediately kill their quarry as falcons do, nor do they seem to know where the life lies, and seldom shift their hold once taken even to defend themselves; and they are therefore easily stabbed by a heron. Rooks are flown in the same manner as herons, but the flight is generally inferior. Although rooks fly very well, they seek shelter in trees or bushes as soon as possible.
For game-hawking eyases are generally used, though undoubtedly passage or wild-caught hawks are to be preferred. The best game hawks we have seen have been passage hawks, but there are difficulties attending the use of them. It may perhaps be fairly said that it is easy to make all passage hawks “wait on” in grand style, but until they have got over a season or two they are very liable to be lost. Among the advantages attending the use of eyases are the following: they are easier to obtain and to train and keep; they also moult far better and quicker than passage hawks, while if lost in the field they will often go home by themselves, or remain about the spot where they were liberated. Experience, and, we must add, some good fortune also, are requisite to make eyases good for waiting on for game. Slight mistakes on the part of the falconer, false points from dogs, or bad luck in serving, will cause a young hawk to acquire bad habits, such as sitting down on the ground, taking stand in a tree, raking out wide, skimming the ground, or lazily flying about at no height. A good game hawk in properflying order goes up at once to a good pitch in the air—the higher she flies the better—and follows her master from field to field, always ready for a stoop when the quarry is sprung. Hawks that have been successfully broken and judiciously worked become wonderfully clever, and soon learn to regulate their flight by the movements of their master. Eyases were not held in esteem by the old falconers, and it is evident from their writings that these hawks have been very much better understood and managed in the 19th century than in the middle ages. It is probable that the old falconers procured their passage and wild-caught hawks with such facility, having at the same time more scope for their use in days when quarry was more abundant and there was more waste land than there now is, that they did not find it necessary to trouble themselves about eyases. Here may be quoted a few lines from one of the best of the old writers, which may be taken as giving a fair account of the estimation in which eyases were generally held, and from which it is evident that the old falconers did not understand flying hawks at hack. Simon Latham, writing in 1633, says of eyases: