PEREGRINE FALCON. 55 



is followed by gentlemen who are favoured by the localities 

 in which they live. More than this, some of these enthu- 

 siastic sportsmen have achieved feats unknown to the fal- 

 coners of old ; for instance, the training of Peregrine Falcons 

 reared in confinement from the nest to fly at and take Herons 

 " on the passage " from their feeding-grounds to their homes, 

 when in ancient days, as appears from old books, it was con- 

 sidered a sufficiently gallant exploit if a Heron roused from 

 a river-bank were brought again " to soil," as it was termed, 

 by a Falcon which had been reclaimed after it had developed 

 and acquired full powers of flight by the enjoyment of com- 

 plete liberty. This change in the system of Falconry has 

 probably been due in a great measure to the employment of 

 Dutch falconers, mostly from the village of Falconswaerd, 

 or Valkenswaard, in North Brabant ; but even their mode of 

 training has been improved by our own countrymen. This 

 village, says Sir John Sebright, writing in 1826, "has for 

 many years furnished falconers to the rest of Europe. I 

 have known many falconers in England, and in the service 

 of different princes on the Continent, but I never met with 

 one of them who was not a native of Falconswaerd." Those 

 who wish to know more on this subject may with profit con- 

 sult Professor Schlegel's elaborate monograph, before men- 

 tioned ; it is enough to say now that falconers from this 

 same place still direct several of the hawking establishments 

 in Europe at the present day. It must not, however, be 

 supposed that we are entirely devoid of native talent for 

 Falconry ; here and there throughout the country is found 

 a lad or young man in whom its genius is strong, and in 

 particular must be mentioned a Scottish family of the name 

 of Barr, several members of which have evinced uncommon 

 skill in the art. 



In the language of Falconry, the female of this species is, 

 exclusively, called the Falcon, and, on account of her greater 

 size and power, is usually flown at Herons and Rooks : the 

 male is called the Tiercel,* and corruptly Tassel, and is more 



* This term, and its French equivalent Tiercelet, is commonly said to have its 

 origin from the male being, as was supposed, one-third less than the female ; but 



