Part 43

Many of these birds migrate during the winter months, and spend a great portion of their time in flying over the face of the country, sweeping along with astonishing strength and rapidity, and rushing down upon their prey with a velocity that renders it impossible for the eye to follow their movements. Considerable variety is observable in the manner in which the flight of the different races of Falcons is accomplished, some moving slowly and with a hovering motion through the realms of air, others sustaining themselves for a considerable time in one spot by means of a gentle and tremulous agitation of the wings. The Noble Falcons, on the contrary, fly with quick short strokes, and an occasional gliding movement, sometimes soaring to an incredible height, and performing most varied and beautiful evolutions, more especially when they are endeavouring to attract the admiration of their mates; at other times they do not usually rise to more than 400 feet above the earth. When perching, the body, owing to the shortness of the feet, is of necessity held erect, but is kept in a horizontal position when walking on the ground, an act which they accomplish in the most awkward manner, endeavouring to render their progress more easy by a constant balancing of the wings. Early morning and evening are preferred by these Falcons for the pursuit of their prey, which they almost always capture whilst in flight, the booty being carried off to some retired spot, where they can devour it undisturbed and at leisure. Some species consume large quantities of insects, but no true Falcon in its free state will eat carrion. The process of digestion is accomplished during a light sleep into which these birds usually fall when satiated, and during which they sit perched upon some tree with streaming and disordered plumage. During the summer they live in pairs, and will allow no intruder to approach the spot where they have selected their building place, but at other seasons they occasionally associate with their congeners and form large flocks, which remain together for weeks and months at a time; towards Eagles or Owls, on the contrary, they exhibit the utmost enmity, and many are the sturdy combats that ensue should the rival marauders encroach upon each other's hunting grounds.

The eyrie of the Noble Falcons is usually very carelessly constructed, and, indeed, some of them will not take the trouble to make even ordinary preparation for their young, but seize upon the nests of some of the larger species of Ravens; whilst such as do build for themselves are content with almost any situation, and merely collect a rough heap of sticks in the holes of trees, rocks, old walls, or even on the ground, the only care for the comfort of the young family consisting in the arrangement of a slight bed of some fibrous material, upon which the brood is laid. The eggs, from three to seven in number, vary considerably in their appearance, but are for the most part round, rough-shelled, and of a pale reddish brown, marked with small spots and large patches of a darker shade. The female alone sits upon the nest, and is meanwhile tended with much assiduity by her mate, who endeavours to enliven her during the performance of her monotonous duty by every means in his power. The young receive the utmost care and attention from both parents, even after they have left the nest, and are instructed and defended from danger with most unwearying devotion.

Perhaps few creatures are so destructive to game and poultry as these Falcons, and yet for centuries they were regarded with distinguished favour by man, who had learnt how to subdue them to his service. So long ago as 400 years before Christ we hear of their being employed in the chase, and in the sixth century the passion for falconry had attained to such an extravagant excess that it was openly reprobated and forbidden in the churches; but even after this the barons, it is said, maintained their right to place their Falcons on the altar during the hours of Divine service. So violent was the rage for this pursuit in England that Edward III. commanded that those who killed a Falcon should be punished with death, and condemned to imprisonment for a year and a day whoever should take one of their nests. To such a high value had they risen in 1396 that the Duke of Nevers and many other noble captives were liberated by Bajazet on the payment of twelve white Falcons, sent to him by the Duke of Burgundy as their ransom. Francis I. kept no fewer than 300 of these valuable birds, which were reared under the care of an officer, who had fifteen noblemen and fifty falconers to assist him in his duties. In England hawking was performed on horseback or on foot--on horseback when in the fields and open country, and on foot when in the woods and coverts. In following the Hawk on foot it was usual for the sportsman to have a stout pole with him to assist him in leaping over little rivulets and ditches; this we learn from an historical fact related by Hall, who informs us that Henry VIII. pursuing his Hawk on foot at Hitchin, in Hertfordshire, attempted, with the assistance of his pole, to jump over a ditch that was half full of muddy water, the pole broke, and the king fell with his head into the mud, where he would have been stifled had not a footman leaped into the ditch and released His Majesty from his perilous situation. When the Hawk was not flying at her game, she was usually _hoodwinked_ with a _cap_ or hood provided for that purpose and fitted to her head, and this hood was worn abroad as well as at home. All Hawks taken upon "_the fist_," the term used for carrying them upon the hand, had strips of leather, called _jesses_, put about their legs, and the jesses were made sufficiently long for the knots to appear between the middle and little fingers of the hand that held them, so that the _lunes_, or small thongs of leather, might be fastened to them with two _tyrrits_, or rings, and the lunes were then loosely wound round the little finger. Lastly, their legs were adorned with bells fastened with rings of leather--each leg having one--the leathers to which the bells were attached were denominated _bewits_, and to the bewits was added the _creance_, or long string, by which, in tutoring, the bird was drawn back after she had been permitted to fly, a proceeding which was called the reclaiming of the Hawk. The bewits, we are informed, were for the purpose of keeping the Hawk from "winding when she bated," that is, when she fluttered her wings to fly after her game. Respecting the bells, it is particularly recommended that they should not be too heavy to impede the flight of the bird, and that they should be of equal weight, sonorous, shrill, and musical, not both of one sound, but the one a semitone below the other. The person who carried the Hawk was also provided with gloves for the purpose of preventing its talons from hurting his hands. In the inventories of apparel belonging to Henry VIII. such articles frequently occur; at Hampton Court, in the jewel house, were "seven Hawks' gloves embroidered."

Old books on hawking assign to different ranks of persons the sort of Hawks proper to be used by each, and they are enumerated in the following order:--

"The Eagle, the Vulture, and the Merloun--for an _Emperor_. The Ger-faulcon, and the Tercel of the Ger-faulcon--for a _King_. The Faulcon of the Rock--for a _Duke_. The Faulcon Peregrine--for an _Earl_. The Bastard--for a _Baron_. The Sacre and the Sacret--for a _Knight_. The Lanere and the Laneret--for an _Esquire_. The Marlyon--for a _Lady_. The Hobby--for a _Young Man_. The Goshawk--for a _Yeoman_. The Tercel--for a _Poor Man_. The Sparrow Hawk--for a _Priest_. The Musket--for a _Holy Water Clerk_. The Kestrel--for a _Knave_ or _Servant_."

The above list is interesting, as it may be presumed to contain the names applied to the greater part, if not all, of the birds used in hawking.

As in hunting, so in hawking the sportsmen had their peculiar expressions, and the uninitiated may read with advantage the terms employed to designate assemblages of various kinds of birds. Thus we read of a _sege_ of Herons or of Bitterns, a _herd_ of Swans, of Cranes, and of Curlews, a _dopping_ of Sheldrakes, a _spring_ of Teals, a _covert_ of Coots, a _gaggle_ of Geese, a _badelynge_ of Ducks, a _sord_ or _sute_ of Mallards, a _muster_ of Peacocks, a _nye_ of Pheasants, a _bevy_ of Quails, a _covey_ of Partridges, a _congregation_ of Plovers, a _flight_ of Doves, a _dole_ of Turtles, a _walk_ of Snipes, a _fall_ of Woodcocks, a _brood_ of Chickens, a _building_ of Rooks, a _murmuration_ of Starlings, an _exaltation_ of Larks, a _flight_ of Swallows, a _watch_ of Nightingales, and a _charm_ of Goldfinches.

It will thus be seen that many technical expressions once employed in Falconry are still in common use.

The Mews at Charing Cross, Westminster, were so called from the word _Mew_, which, in Falconers' language was the name of the place wherein Hawks were kept at the moulting time, when they cast their feathers: the king's Hawks were kept at this place as early as 1377, at the beginning of the reign of Richard II., but A.D. 1537, the 27th of Henry VIII., it was converted into stables for that monarch's horses, and even up to the present time the word Mews is employed to designate London stables.

In Central Asia the use of these birds for hunting purposes appears to have been carried on with truly Eastern pomp and profusion, for Marco Polo, who wrote about the year 1290, tells us that when Kublai Khan quitted Hambul he took with him no fewer than 10,000 falconers, who were sent out in parties of from 200 to 300 men to hunt over different parts of the country, and were commanded to send all the game they obtained to their master.

On these occasions the Khan rode upon an elephant, and was followed by 10,000 men, who stood in an enormous circle round him, ready to catch the Falcons and bring them back to their owners. Twelve of the finest birds were appropriated to the Sultan, and these, as well as those belonging to the principal nobles, were distinguished by a silver plate fastened to the leg, on which the name of their owner was written, whilst the Falcons belonging to inferior members of the suite were without the badge, and were handed over to the care of an officer appointed for their especial protection. Tavernier, who resided in Persia for many years in the seventeenth century, tells us that the King of Persia had 800 Falcons, of which some were taught to hunt wild boars, wild asses, antelopes, and foxes, and others trained to go in pursuit of Cranes, Herons, Geese, and Partridges; Chardin, another eastern traveller, informs us that the Persians trained them to fly at the heads of very large quadrupeds, or even men, and blind them. It would appear that this mode of hunting with Falcons is still practised in many provinces of Asia, and Sir John Malcolm, in his "Sketches of Persia," describes the sport of hawking as seen by him when at Abasheher on the Persian Gulf:--

"The huntsmen repair to a large plain, or rather desert, near the sea-side; they have Hawks and greyhounds; the Hawks are carried in the usual manner, on the hand of the huntsman; the dogs led in a leash by the horseman, generally the same who carries the Hawk. When an antelope is seen, they endeavour to get as near as possible, but the animal, the moment it observes them, goes off at a rate that seems swifter than the wind; the horsemen are instantly at full speed, having slipped the dogs. If it is a single deer, they at the same time fly the Hawks, but if a herd, they wait till the dogs have fixed on a particular antelope. The Hawks, skimming along near the ground, soon reach the deer, at whose head they pounce in succession, and sometimes with a violence that knocks it over; at all events they confuse the animal so much as to stop its speed in such a degree that the dogs can come up, and in an instant men, horses, dogs, and Hawks, surround the unfortunate deer, against which their united efforts have been combined. The part of the chase that surprised me most was the extraordinary combination of the Hawks and the dogs, which throughout seemed to look to each other for aid; this, I was told, was the result of long and skilful training. The Hawks used in this sport are of a species I have never seen in any other country; the breed, which is called 'Cherkh,' is not large, but of great beauty and symmetry.

"The novelty of these amusements interested me, and I was pleased on accompanying a party to a village, about twenty miles from Abasheher, to see a species of hawking, peculiar, I believe, to the sandy plains of Persia, on which the Hubara, a noble species of Bustard is found on almost bare plains, where it has no shelter but a small shrub, called 'yeetuck.' When we met in quest of them we were a party of about twenty, all well mounted. Two kinds of Hawks are necessary for this sport; the first, the Cherkh (the same which is flown at the antelope) attacks them on the ground, but will not follow them on the wing; for this reason, the Bhyree, a Hawk well known in India, is flown at them the moment the Hubara rises. As we rode along in an extended line, the men who carried the Cherkhs every now and then unhooded and held them up, that they might look over the plain, and the first Hubara we found afforded us a proof of the astonishing quickness of sight of one of the Hawks. She fluttered to be loose, and the man who held her gave a whoop as he threw her off his hand, and then set off at full speed; we all did the same. At first we only saw our Hawk skimming over the plain, but soon perceived, at the distance of more than a mile, the beautiful speckled Hubara, with his head erect and wings outspread, running forward to meet his adversary; the Cherkh made several unsuccessful pounces, which were either evaded or repelled by the beak or wings of the Hubara, which at last found an opportunity of rising, when a Bhyree was instantly flown, and the whole party were again at full gallop; we had a flight of more than a mile, when the Hubara alighted, and was killed by another Cherkh, who attacked him on the ground. We killed several others, but were not always successful, having seen our Hawks twice completely beaten during the two days that we followed this fine sport."

According to Jerdon, the Bedouins of the Sahara capture large numbers of Peregrine Falcons, and sell them to men who train them to pursue Bustards, Storks, Ibises, and various quadrupeds. The Heron alone, of all birds, seems capable of resisting these terrible assailants, and will sometimes defend itself so courageously with its beak as to drive off the enemy, should the latter not have sufficient experience to seize the Heron by the nape of the neck. In England the pursuit of the Heron by means of Falcons was practised until very recently, and Sir John Sebright gives the following account of Heron hawking as practised at Didlington in Norfolk:--

"This heronry is situated on a river, with an open country on every side of it. The Herons go out in the morning to rivers and ponds, at a very considerable distance, in search of food, and return to the heronry towards the evening. It is at this time that the falconers place themselves in the open country, down wind of the heronry, so that when the Herons are intercepted on their return home, they are obliged to fly against the wind to gain their retreat. When a Heron passes, _a cast_ (a couple) of Hawks is let go. The Heron disgorges his food when he finds that he is pursued, and endeavours to keep above the Hawks by rising in the air. The Hawks fly in a spiral direction to get above the Heron, and thus the three birds frequently appear to be flying in different directions. The first Hawk makes his stoop as soon as he gets above the Heron, who evades it by a shift, and thus gives the second Hawk time to get up and stoop in his turn. In what is termed a good flight this is frequently repeated, and the three birds often mount to a great height in the air. When one of the Hawks seizes his prey, the other soon _binds to him_, as it is termed, and, buoyant from the motion of their wings, the three descend together to the ground, with but little velocity. The falconer must lose no time in getting hold of the Heron's neck when he is on the ground, to prevent him from injuring the Hawks; it is then, and not when he is in the air, that he will use his beak in his defence."

The SCHAHIN, or ROYAL FALCON (_Falco peregrinator_), is highly prized by the Hindoos, who catch large numbers annually. When in pursuit of game, this latter species is not loosened from the huntsman's hand, but is permitted to soar aloft in freedom until its prey is roused, when it swoops down upon it with unerring aim.

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The HUNTING FALCONS (_Hierofalco_), the most prized of the Falcon family, inhabit the more northern portions of the globe, and are at once recognisable by their very large bodies, strong and decidedly curved beaks, long tails, and the fact that the feet are only partially covered with feathers; in other respects they closely resemble other Noble Falcons. We have divided these birds into three groups, which we shall call respectively the HUNTING, the POLAR, and the GIER FALCONS. The two former of these sections bear a close resemblance to each other as to plumage, and the young of all three are so much alike as almost to baffle even the eye of a practised naturalist. The plumage of the HUNTING FALCON (_Hierofalco candicans_) is white, marked with longitudinal dark streaks, whilst that of the POLAR FALCON (_Hierofalco Arcticus_) is white, with irregular dark blotches; as both species advance in years, these dark marks gradually fade, and the plumage becomes a most pure and beautiful white. In the young birds the back is greyish brown or deep grey, with very distinct streaks and spots; the feathers upon the top of the head have black shafts, and vary considerably in their shade; the wings and tail are broadly striped, and the lower parts of the body are fawn colour; the brown eye is surrounded by a bare greenish yellow ring. In the old birds the feet are pale yellow, the beak yellowish blue, becoming darker towards the tip, and the cere yellow; the feet of the young are blue. The plumage of the Gier Falcon (spelt also _Ger_, _Jer,_ and _Gyr_), on the contrary, is deep greyish blue, striped with black upon the upper part of the body; the tail is light greyish blue, striped with a deeper shade; the quills are brownish black, the breast and belly are grey or yellowish white, marked with long dark streaks, varied upon the sides and hose by irregular spots. The coat of the young is dark brown above, and of a light greyish yellow beneath, streaked with a deeper shade. Nestlings of this species are scarcely distinguishable from Peregrine Falcons of similar age. All these three groups of HUNTING FALCONS are nearly of the same size; the females being about one foot eleven inches in length, and four feet in breadth; the tail measures about nine inches, and the wing fifteen inches.

The Hunting Falcon and the Polar Falcon both inhabit Greenland and Iceland; the Gier Falcon, on the contrary, is met with in the most northerly parts of Scandinavia, Russia, and Siberia, and, according to our own observations, is the only species of Hunting Falcon found in Lapland. We must speak collectively of the habits of these three groups, concerning whose respective peculiarities we are almost entirely without information. All appear to prefer such rocky localities as are in the immediate neighbourhood of the sea coast, and upon which hundreds and thousands of sea birds settle during the breeding season; nevertheless, they do not entirely avoid the wooded parts of the country, for such amongst them as are too young to pair make long excursions inland, even occasionally visiting the mountain ranges of the interior, amongst which the old birds are rarely or never seen. The attachment of these various species to their breeding places is very remarkable; they return to them with such unfailing regularity that we were once accurately directed where to look for an eyrie, even though our informant had neither seen the spot nor heard it spoken of for many years; in their other habits they closely resemble the Peregrine Falcon.

During the summer months they subsist upon sea birds, in the winter upon Ptarmigans, and, according to some naturalists, will devour hares, and live upon squirrels for whole months together. We were on one occasion for three days in the vicinity of the Nyken (two mountains much frequented by sea birds), and watched a pair of Gier Falcons come down morning after morning punctually at ten o'clock, in order to obtain their breakfast. This was very speedily accomplished; both took a rapid survey of the feathered swarm they were about to attack, and then, swooping down with unerring aim, carried off one bird after another until they had obtained the necessary supply. Holwell mentions having seen a Polar Falcon pounce upon two Sea Gulls at the same time, and bear them away in triumph one in each foot; they are also said to destroy Pigeons. At the close of the breeding season the Hunting Falcons often come down from their retirement and approach the dwellings of man, towards whom they exhibit but little fear. When winter approaches they follow the Ptarmigans to their retreats amongst the mountains, and so great is the dread in which the latter holds their cruel and insatiable enemy, that they will frequently endeavour to bury themselves in the snow, if safety by flight seems to be hopeless. When in pursuit of the squirrel their ordinary mode of attack would, of course, be impossible, as the creature is protected by the sheltering trees; the Hunting Falcons, therefore, at once change their tactics, and display a patience and cunning in watching for and stealing upon their victims that strikingly contrasts with their ordinary precipitate and open butchery.

According to Faber, the True Hunting Falcon builds its large flat eyrie amid the fastnesses of some inaccessible rock in the immediate vicinity of the ocean, whilst the Gier Falcon prefers to avoid all the labour of preparation by taking violent possession of the nest of some large Crow. The eggs of the Polar Falcon are laid about June or July, those of the Gier Falcon, according to Nardoi, are usually laid as early as April, though we have found them in the month of July. The colour and size of the eggs is very varied, but those of the Polar Falcon are largest, and have the roughest shell.

Some centuries ago a Danish vessel called the _Falcon Ship_ was sent every year to bring these birds from Iceland, and live Falcons are still exported every year to Copenhagen. Large numbers are killed in Iceland and Greenland on account of the mischief they do, but in the north of Asia they are still reared and trained for the chase. In Lapland and Scandinavia they are never captured except for the naturalist. The Raven is the only feathered enemy against whose attacks the Hunting Falcons have to be upon their guard.

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The WANDERING FALCONS (_Falco_) differ from the last-mentioned birds in the inferiority of their size, and the construction of the beak, which is smaller and more decidedly curved; the feet are not so entirely covered with feathers, and the tail is somewhat shorter in comparison with the wings.

THE PEREGRINE FALCON.