THE LANNER. 235 



The Lanner, Lanneret, and Tunisian. 



The lanner is a hawk common in all countries, espe- 

 cially in France, making her eyrie in high trees, in 

 forests, or on high cliffs near the sea side. She is less 

 than the falcon gentle, fair plumed when intermewed 

 (when a hawk is moulted in confinement), and of shorter 

 talon than any other falcon. Those who have the largest 

 and best seasoned heads are the best lanners. With 

 the lanner or lanneret you may fly the river, and both 

 also are very good for the laud. They are not very 

 choice in their food, and can better away with gross 

 victuals than any other hawk. Mewed lanners are 

 hardly kno\vn from the soar hawk (and so likcAVTse the 

 saker), because they do not change their plumes. You 

 may know the lanner by these three tokens : 1st, they 

 are blacker hawks than any other ; 2nd, they have less 

 beak ; 3rd, and lastly, they are less armed and pounced 

 than any other falcons. Of all hawks there is none so 

 fit for a young falconer as the lanner, because she is 

 not inclined to siu-feits, and seldom melts grease by 

 being overflown. Thej-e are a sort of lanners which 

 eyrie in the Alps, having their heads white and flat 

 aloft, large and black eyes, slender nazes, short and 

 thick beaks, and less than the haggard or falcon gentle. 

 They are of different sizes. 



Their tail is marble or russet, their breast feathers 

 white, and full of russet spots ; their sails and tail 

 long. They are short legged, "vvith a foot less than that 

 of the falcon, marble sered, but being mewed the sere 

 changes to yellow. 



" The lanner never lieth upon the wing after she hath 

 flown to mark, but after once stooping she maketh a 



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