44 
who once sat caressed on the wrist of Beauty! The coast and 
inland precipices of the British Islands are some of the most 
favorite breeding places of this fine falcon, though the incessant 
persecution now bestowed on her everywhere, and the taking of 
her eggs and young so constantly as to render the procuring of 
young peregrine falcons to be trained for sport increasingly 
difficult, year by year, is rapidly reducing her numbers. Still 
the open downland country of the South, and the moorlands 
of the North of England are frequently graced by the 
peregrine’s flight; and long may they so continue to be, for 
without her, falconry could hardly exist, though hawking would 
remain. The Goshawk and Sparrow-hawk are both hawks 
short-winged, and are easily to be distinguished from the 
aristocracy of their race—the falcons proper—by the yellow 
color of the iris of their eyes, those of all falcons whatsoever, 
being very dark brown, approaching to black (so black as to be 
little lighter in color than the black pupil of the eye itself). 
Foreign falcons, such as Sakers—and Lanners—and the lovely 
Indian variety of the peregrine falcon, called Shaheen, are all 
used in Persian, Moorish, Arabic, and Indian falconry. A variety 
of the golden eagle, called Bearcoot, is in use amongst the 
Kirghis of the steppes of Asia; and the Goshawk and Spar- 
hawk in enclosed countries, anywhere, where speed is not so 
much required in the pursuer, as courage and determination. 
2nd,—The way falcons and hawks are usually caught or 
procured alive and unharmed for the purpose of being trained. 
They are usually divided into Haggard—passage or wild 
caught hawks; and eyesses, or nestlings taken by hand from 
the eyrie or nest, before they can fly. It is needless to say that 
the former are for all ends desired by the falconer but one (viz. 
tameness) immeasurably to be preferred. The one, in fact, may 
be roughly compared to a wild lioness or tigress, born and bred 
up, and well taught her business, by her parents, as in very truth 
she is. She is, therefore, of course, when caught by man and 
tamed sufficiently to be trained and used for sport, most com- 
petent to take, in the best of style, any fowl she may happen to 
meet, within her compass. The eyess, or nestling falcon or 
