THE HAWK. 



47 



peregrine-falcon does not moult till the middle 

 of August. The peregrine is stronger in the 

 shoulder, has a larger eye, and yet more sunk 

 in the head ; his beak is stronger, his legs 

 longer, and the toes better divided. 



Next in size to these is the lanner, a bird 

 now very little known in Europe ; then fol- 

 lows the sacre, the legs of which are of a blu- 

 ish colour, and serve to distinguish that bird ; 

 to them succeeds the hobby, used for smaller 

 game, for daring larks, and stooping at quails. 

 The kestril was trained for the same purpo- 

 ses ; and lastly the merlin; which, though 

 the smallest of all the hawk or falcon kind, 

 and not much larger than a thrush, yet dis- 

 plays a degree of courage that renders him 

 formidable even to birds ten times his size. 

 He has often been known to kill a partridge or 

 a quail at a single pounce from above. 



Some of the other species of sluggish birds 

 were now and then trained to this sport, but 

 it was when no better could be obtained ; but 

 these just described were only considered as 

 birds of the nobler races. Their courage in 

 general was such, that no bird, not very much 

 above their own size, could terrify them ; their 

 swiftness so great, that scarcely any bird 

 could escape them ; and their docility so re- 

 markable, that they obeyed not only the com- 

 mands, but the signs of their master. They 

 remained quietly perched upon his hand till 

 their game was flushed, or else kept hovering 

 round his head, without ever leaving him but 

 when he gave permission. The common fal- 

 con is a bird of such spirit, that, like a con- 

 queror in a country, he keeps all birds in awe 

 and subjection to his prowess. Where he is 

 seen flying wild, as I often had an opportu- 

 nity of observing, the birds of every kind, 

 that seemed entirely to disregard the kite or 

 the sparrow-hawk, fly with screams at his 

 most distant appearance. Long before I could 

 see the falcon, I have seen them with the ut- 

 most signs of terror endeavouring to avoid 

 him ; and, like the peasants of a country be- 

 fore a victorious army, every one of them at- 

 tempting to shift for himself. Even the young 

 falcons, though their spirit be depressed by 

 captivity, will, when brought out into the 

 field, venture to fly at barnacles and wild 

 geese, till, being soundly brushed and beaten 

 by those strong birds, they learn their error, 

 and desist from meddling with such unwieldly 

 game for the future. 



To train up the hawk to this kind of obe- 

 dience, so as to hunt for his master, and bring 

 him the game he shall kill, requires no small 

 degree of skill and assiduity. Numberless 

 treatises have been written upon this subject 

 which are now, with the sport itself, almost 

 utterly forgotten : indeed, except to a few, 

 they seem utterly unintelligible ; for the fal- 



coners had a language peculiar to themselves, 

 in which they conversed and wrote, and took 

 a kind of professional pride in using no other. 

 A modern reader, I suppose, would be little 

 edified by one of the instructions, for instance, 

 which we find in Willoughby, when he bids 

 us " draw our falcon out of the mew twenty 

 days before we enseam her. If she truss and 

 carry, the remedy is, to cosse her talons, her 

 powse, and petty single." 



But, as it certainly makes a part of natural 

 history, to show how much the nature of birds 

 can be wrought upon by harsh or kind treat- 

 ment, I will just take leave to give a short 

 account of the manner of training a hawk, 

 divested of those cant words with which men 

 of art have thought proper to obscure their 

 profession. 



In order to train up a falcon, the master 

 begins by clapping straps upon his legs, which 

 are called jesses, to which there is fastened a 

 ring with the owner's name, by which, in case 

 he should be lost, the finder may know where 

 to bring him back. To these also are added 

 little bells, which serve to mark the place 

 where he is, if lost in the chase. He is al- 

 ways carried on the fist, and is obliged to keep 

 without sleeping. If he be stubborn, and at- 

 tempts to bite, his head is plunged into water. 

 Thus, by hunger, watching, and fatigue, he 

 is constrained to submit to having his head 

 covered by a hood or cowl, which covers his 

 eyes. This troublesome employment con- 

 tinues often for three days and nights without 

 ceasing. It rarely happens but at the end of 

 this his necessities and the privation of light 

 make him lose all idea of liberty, and bring 

 down his natural wildness. His master judges 

 of his being tamed when he permits his head 

 to be covered without resistance, and when 

 uncovered he seizes the meat before him con- 

 tentedly. The repetition of these lessons by 

 degrees ensures success. His wants being 

 the chief principle of his dependence, it is 

 endeavoured to increase his appetite by giving 

 him little balls of flannel, which he greedily 

 swallows. Having thus excited the appetite, 

 care is taken to satisfy it ; and thus gratitude 

 attaches the bird to the man who but just be- 

 fore had been his tormentor. 



When the first lessons have succeeded, and 

 the bird shows signs of docility, he is carried 

 out upon some green, the head is uncovered, 

 and, by flattering him with food at different 

 times, he is taught to jump on the fist, and to 

 continue there. When confirmed in this 

 habit, it is then thought time to make him ac- 

 quainted with the lure. This lure is only a 

 thing stuffed like the bird the falcon is de- 

 signed to pursue, such as a heron, a pigeon, 

 or a quail, and on this lure they always take 

 care to give him his food. It is quite neces- 



