70 THE PEEEGEINE FALCON. 



horse or pounce on the skin as it flies leaping and striking along the ground. On tht 

 first two or three days, the Falcon is almost quite breathless when it has overtaken tht 

 horse, and sits panting, with open heak, upon the skin ; hut in a week or so, it becomes 

 much stronger, and is not in the least distressed by its severe chase. 



To teach the bird to pounce upon herons, buzzards, kites, or other winged prey, a 

 stuffed skin is employed after much the same fashion that is followed with the hare skin. 

 Instead, however, of being dragged along the ground, the skin is flung into the air, and 

 the bird encouraged to pounce upon it before it reaches the ground. In all cases the 

 attendants keep up a great noise and shouting as soon as the Falcon begins to feed, in 

 order to accustom the bird to the uproar which is the inevitable concomitant of the chase. 

 Horses and dogs are then brought clobe to the feeding bird, and the dogs are encouraged 

 to break out in full cry. 



When the bird has become sufficiently docile to recognise its keeper and to know his 

 voice, it is then instructed to come to his hand when called. This accomplishment is taught 

 by means of a " lure" and a whistle. The lure is a gaudy apparatus of feathers and leather, 

 on which is placed a small piece of some special dainty. The Falcon is encouraged to jump 

 on the lure and devour the food, the whistle being blown continually while the bird is 

 eating. Next day the teacher stands at a few yards' distance from his pupil, blows the 

 whistle, exhibits the lure, and permits the bird to make its little feast. In a very short 

 time the sound of the whistle attracts the attention of the Falcon, which immediately 

 looks around for the lure and sets upon it at once. When the huntsman takes the 

 field, the lure is attached to a leathern strap, and slung to the side of the horse, so that 

 whenever a flying Falcon is to be recalled, the huntsman whistles sharply in order to 

 attract the bird's attention, and at the same time swings the lure round his head, so as to 

 render it more visible to the bird. 



This process of training, of which a very slight and rapid sketch has been given, 

 occupies from six weeks to two months, whereas that of the peregrine, goshawk, or merlin 

 only requires some fifteen or twentj days. Even when the whole series of instructions 

 has been completed, its ultimate success is very dubious, for it sometimes happens that 

 when the bird finds itself wholly at liberty for the first time, it forgets all its teaching, 

 and, heedless of lure or whistle, flies exultingly to its rocky home. 



The colour of the adult Jerfalcon is nearly white, being purely white on the under 

 surface and flecked with narrow transverse bars of greyish-brown upon the upper parts. 

 The sharp claws are black, the beak of a bluish tint, and the cere, tarsus, and toes yellow. 

 When young, however, the bird presents a very different aspect, and would hardly be 

 recognised as belonging to the same species. In its earlier stages of life it is almost 

 wholly of a greyish-brown tint, the feathers being slightly marked with a little white upon 

 their edges. As the bird increases in age the white edges become wider, and by degrees 

 the entire feather is of a snowy wliiteness. The name Jerfalcon is supposed to be 

 a corruption of " Geyer-falcon," or Vulture Falcon. 



Less powerful, but more graceful than the Jerfalcon, the Peeegkine Falcon has ever 

 held the first place among the hawks that are trained for the chase. 



The temper of the latter bird is incomparably more docile than that of the former, the 

 lessons of the instructor are received with more readiness, occupy far less time, and seem 

 to be more powerfully impressed upon the memory. For training this bird the process is 

 very similar to that which is employed in the instruction of the Jerfalcon, but the system 

 is not nearly so severe, and occupies scarcely one fourth of the time that is needful to 

 render the fierce and fearless Jerfalcon subservient to the dominion of man. The whole 

 process is very simple in its theory, being based on the principle of placing the bird in 

 such situations that it is absolutely unable to disobey the orders which are given by its 

 trainer, and consequently imagines that it is equally bound to obey every order which be 

 may afterwards give. In order to obtain this result two qualities are needful in the 

 instructor, namely, patience and gentleness, for without these traits of character no man 

 can hope to be a successful teacher of hawks, or, indeed, of any other being whatever. 



When thoroughly tamed, the Peregrine Falcon displays a very considerable amount of 



