■20 



VERTEJiUATA. 



6L " z;:^^^:m§^ifm^m0^^- ■ 



A HAWKIXG PARTY OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 



Falcon, on account of its greater strength and courage, was flown at birds of large size, as cranes, 

 storks, herons, and wild geese The Iceland Falcon had the most bold and rapid flight; it 

 mounted higher and its gyrations were wider than those of the other species ; its stoop upon the 

 quarry is described by the old writers on falconry as in the highest degree grand, impetuous, and 

 imposing. 



"In the language of falconry," says Yarrell, "the female Peregrine was exclusively called the 

 Falcon, and, on account of her greater size, power, and courage, was usually flown at herons and 

 ducks ; the male I'eregrine, being smaller, sometimes one-third less than the female, was called 

 the Tercel, Tiercel, and Tiercelet, and was more frequently flown at partridges, and sometimes at 

 magpies. Young Peregrines of the year, on account of the red tinge of their plumage, were 

 (.J^]1^.J — the fenuile a Red Falcon and the male a Red Tiercel — to distinguish them from the older 

 birds, which were called Haggarts or Intenncived Bawks." 



The Lanner, F. lanarius, is found in Dalmatia, Hungary, and Greece. It is colored above like 

 the Pcrofrrine Falcon ; below it is white, with dark longitudinal spots. It is a rare species. For- 

 merly the King of France, Louis XVI., had Lanners sent annually from Malta ; but they were 

 brou'dit from the more eastern countries. It exceeds the Peregrine Falcon in size, being inter- 

 mediate between that and the Jerfalcon, and was anciently much esteemed for flying at the 

 kite, with which the Peregrine is hardly able to contend. The name of Lanner was confined to 

 the female ; the male was called a Lannerct, on account of its smaller size. Like the other species 

 it builds its nest on high and almost inaccessible rocks. 



The Sacred Falcon,* F. sacer, considerably larger than the preceding, was also used in fal- 

 conry. The plumage above is an ashy-brown ; below, white, with light reddish spots. It is a 

 rare species, found in Southeastern Europe. 



Falconry appears to have been first practiced in the East, and it is still in vogue in Persia 

 and some other Asiatic countries. Though now forgotten in Europe, it was the fashionable 

 sport of the Middle Ages, a fevorite with nobles, kings, and fair ladies. So elegant and showy a 

 pastime, and one in the excitements of which the gentler sex could share with the rougher, failed 

 not to become very prevalent, especially in France. In a very old French poem on forest sports, 



* All the preceding species belong to Cuvier's genus of Ukrofalco, a term abridged into Gyrfalcon, and signifying 

 Sacred Falcon ; it is used in allusion to the reverence of the ancient Egyptians for certain birds of prey. 



