CHAPTER VIITHE EAGLE OWL

Wenow come to the owls, of which there are eight or nine species, the most magnificent of them all being the Great Eagle Owl.[81]

Great Eagle Owl.—Nestlings of this species are frequently taken by fowlers, reared by hand, and then trained[82]for the sport of “owling.” When first taken from the nest, they must be well and frequently fed, and be kept in as high condition as possible; for if at all neglected at this age, the immature feathers become “strangled” and fall out.

As soon as Autumn commences and the weather begins to cool,i.e., as soon as the birds of prey and other birds have commenced their in-migration from the hills and other summer-quarters, the nestling owl is taken up, fitted with jesses,[83]carried on the fist, sparely dieted, and “manned,” just like a young hawk in training. When thoroughly “manned,” a stick is procured about twenty inches long: to one end of this a circular piece of black horse-blanket, or felt, is securely fastened. To this again a twist of black goat-hair rope[84]is attached, so that by its means the owl’s meat may be tied on to the black felt.

The fowler, in the morning, places the stick, garnished with meat, about two paces from him on the ground. He then takes the owl on his fist and shows it the meat on the stick. The owl will leave the fowler’s fist and fly to the meat. It is allowed to eat a little only of the meat, being taken up and flown at this lure a second, and a third time. It is then permitted to make a light meal and is removed.

In the late afternoon the lesson of the morning is repeated, the distance from which the owl is flown being slightly increased.

The above training is continued daily, the distance being increased step by step, till the owl will fly a good long way to the garnished stick laid on the ground. When this stage of the owl’s education is reached, the stick is no longer laid down, but, felt-side upwards, is plantedlightlyin the ground, in such a manner that the moment the owl settles on the felt to feed, the stick collapses. If the stick is planted too firmly, it will not fall flat to the ground, the result being that the owl remains suspended half way. As soon as the owl will fly readily to the upright stick, from a distance of five- or six-hundred paces,[85]its education may be considered complete.

Now, if accidents are to be avoided, the owl, during the whole of its training, must have been fed on nothing but red meat, meat without the vestige of a feather. If fed on pigeons or fowls, or any kind of “feather,” it may learn the fatal vice of bird-killing, a vice that will be fully appreciated by the fowler the first time a fine falcon becomes entangled in his net; for seeing the falcon struggling in the net, that dog-begotten owl will abandon the lure, and fastening on to the captive, will by a single squeeze of its deadly feet deprive her of life. Before the fowler can arrive, the murder is done, and his regrets—of what avail are they?

In addition to the owl, the fowler must procure a fine silk net. The silk thread from which it is made should be woven of six or seven fibres and should be dyed to match the ground where the net will eventually be set up. When in position, the net should be invisible. In size it should be about ten feet long by sixteen to eighteen feet broad.[86]A very long fine silk cord of the same colour as the net is threaded through its top meshes, and the net (erected much in the same manner as an ordinarydu-gaza[87]forcatching sparrow-hawks), is supported in an upright position by two very light poles[88]as long as the breadth of the net, and these are placed under the cord, at fourteen to fifteen paces distance from the ends of the net. The ends of the cord are made fast to pegs driven into the ground at a good distance from the ends of the net. The poles must be so erected that, at any slight shock to the net, they will collapse suddenly.

The “luring-stick,” garnished with a shank of sheep or goat securely tied to the black felt, is now erected exactly in the centre of the net, and about five feet[89]from it. The net so arranged is in position for use.

The fowler now takes the owl on his fist, shows it the garnished “luring-stick,” and then turns about and walks off in the opposite direction for a distance of five- or six-hundred paces: he then halts, turns about again, and casting off the owl into the air, quickly conceals himself.

The owl, in accordance with its previous training, flies straight for the lure, and is soon closely mobbed by all the birds of the neighbourhood. Do not leave your ambush; watch. If you are near the hills, perhaps a goshawk,qizilort̤arlān, or else a saker falcon will come down and join the crowd. The owl, however, having no other object but to reach its goal, ignores the clamouring presence of its pursuers and continues on its straight course. The first bird to buffet the owl, on its alighting on the lure, is a fast prisoner in the net.

Let us suppose a noble saker falcon has thus fallen a victim to your fowler toils. Leave your ambush, and, cautiously and gently, I adjure thee by God, go and secure thy prisoner, treating her with all honour and respect.

The eyes of a newly caught hawk should be “seeled” on the spot, and if a fine needle and fine thread (not silk) be used for the purpose,the falconer into whose hands the hawk eventually falls, will call down blessings, not curses, on the operator’s head.

Nestling of Eagle-Owl Preferred.—For the above sport, the nestling is preferred to the wild caught bird. Being ignorant and inexperienced, and consequently more courageous, it treats eagles and other unknown dangers, with contempt. The nestling has also greater staying power.[90]The hours it should be flown are from early morning till about eleven o’clock, and from three in the afternoon till within half an hour of sunset. A hundred flights in the day are not too much for a really good bird.[91]

Disadvantages of wild-caught Owl.—The wild-caught owl soon gets done up, and after a few flights gets sulky and flies off aimlessly and settles on the ground.

Arab Name for Eagle-Owl.—The Arabs call the Eagle-OwlFahdu’l-Layl, or “Panther[92]of the Night.” What the Golden Eagle is to the day, the Eagle-Owl is to the night. Hares and foxes fall an easy prey to it.[93]

Riding Down Eagle-Owl.—Should you, by chance, when riding out in the open country, put up an Eagle-Owl, set your horse into a gallop and start in hot chase. If closely pressed, the owl will not rise more than thrice; after that it may be easily captured.[94]

Treatment of newly caught Eagle-Owl.—It is not at all necessary to “seel” the eyes of an owl captured in the above manner. It should at once be placed on the fist and “carried” like a short-winged hawk; if it declines to sit up, duck its head under water three or four times in rapid succession. This willsoon bring it to its senses and send away its perversity: plunging its head in cold water extinguishes the fire of pride in its heart and makes it steady as a rock.[95]

FOOTNOTES:[81]Shāh-būf.[82]Rasānīdan, “to train.”[83]Pācha-band.“Jesses, the short narrow straps of leather fastened round a hawk’s legs to hold her by.”—Harting.The jesses are never removed from the hawk’s legs. In the East the jesses are frequently made of woven silk or cotton, with small rings or “varvels” attached to their ends: with the short-winged hawks, the use of leather jesses is the exception. The “leash” is a long narrow thong (or in the East a silk or cotton cord) that is attached to the end of the “jesses” by means of a swivel, or otherwise, and is used for tying up a hawk to a perch or block.Videalso page 78, note315.[84]Qātima, a word used by the E. Turks and Kurds for a rope of goat hair. In India gut, or the sinews of cranes, are used for binding lures, etc.[85]Qadam; a short pace of about twenty inches.[86]Ẕiraʿ.“Threeẕiraʿlong, by five or sixẕiraʿbroad.” The Persianẕiraʿis variously stated to be a measure of forty, and forty-two inches in length.[87]Du-gaza; a light, large-meshed net, six feet or more long, by four and a half feet or more broad, and suspended between two light bamboos or sticks, which are shod with iron spikes. This net is planted upright, twenty yards or more away from a resting hawk, while a live bird is pegged down in the centre of the net, a few feet from it, and on the side opposite to the hawk. A certain amount of spare net is gathered towards its centre and allowed to rest loose on the ground. The hawk makes straight for the fluttering bait, through the invisible net; the loose portion on the ground permits the net to “belly” like a sail, while the shock given causes the light uprights to collapse inwards, thus effectually enveloping the hawk.[88]Presumably the length of these poles should be somewhat less than the breadth of the net.[89]“One and a halfẕiraʿ.” The old English name for hawk-catching nets was “urines” or “uraynes.”[90]Perhaps it can be kept in higher condition.[91]It must not be supposed from this description that hawk-catching is by any means an easy business. In India, in the course of two or three weeks, the fowlermaynot catch more than three hawks worth keeping, and that, too, at the season the birds are migrating into the country.[92]Apparently a slip on the author’s part.Fahdis properly thecheetaor hunting-leopard and not the panther. In Persian the former is calledyūzand sometimesyūz-palang, while the latter is calledpalangonly.[93]InSeebohm’s British Birds, it is stated that the eagle owl preys on capercailzie and fawns, besides hares and other game.[94]Partridges are caught in this manner by the Baluchis round Dera Ghazi Khan.Videalso Shaw’sHigh Tartary, Yarkand and Kashgar.

[81]Shāh-būf.

[82]Rasānīdan, “to train.”

[83]Pācha-band.“Jesses, the short narrow straps of leather fastened round a hawk’s legs to hold her by.”—Harting.The jesses are never removed from the hawk’s legs. In the East the jesses are frequently made of woven silk or cotton, with small rings or “varvels” attached to their ends: with the short-winged hawks, the use of leather jesses is the exception. The “leash” is a long narrow thong (or in the East a silk or cotton cord) that is attached to the end of the “jesses” by means of a swivel, or otherwise, and is used for tying up a hawk to a perch or block.Videalso page 78, note315.

[84]Qātima, a word used by the E. Turks and Kurds for a rope of goat hair. In India gut, or the sinews of cranes, are used for binding lures, etc.

[85]Qadam; a short pace of about twenty inches.

[86]Ẕiraʿ.“Threeẕiraʿlong, by five or sixẕiraʿbroad.” The Persianẕiraʿis variously stated to be a measure of forty, and forty-two inches in length.

[87]Du-gaza; a light, large-meshed net, six feet or more long, by four and a half feet or more broad, and suspended between two light bamboos or sticks, which are shod with iron spikes. This net is planted upright, twenty yards or more away from a resting hawk, while a live bird is pegged down in the centre of the net, a few feet from it, and on the side opposite to the hawk. A certain amount of spare net is gathered towards its centre and allowed to rest loose on the ground. The hawk makes straight for the fluttering bait, through the invisible net; the loose portion on the ground permits the net to “belly” like a sail, while the shock given causes the light uprights to collapse inwards, thus effectually enveloping the hawk.

[88]Presumably the length of these poles should be somewhat less than the breadth of the net.

[89]“One and a halfẕiraʿ.” The old English name for hawk-catching nets was “urines” or “uraynes.”

[90]Perhaps it can be kept in higher condition.

[91]It must not be supposed from this description that hawk-catching is by any means an easy business. In India, in the course of two or three weeks, the fowlermaynot catch more than three hawks worth keeping, and that, too, at the season the birds are migrating into the country.

[92]Apparently a slip on the author’s part.Fahdis properly thecheetaor hunting-leopard and not the panther. In Persian the former is calledyūzand sometimesyūz-palang, while the latter is calledpalangonly.

[93]InSeebohm’s British Birds, it is stated that the eagle owl preys on capercailzie and fawns, besides hares and other game.

[94]Partridges are caught in this manner by the Baluchis round Dera Ghazi Khan.Videalso Shaw’sHigh Tartary, Yarkand and Kashgar.

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