116 THE IMPORTANCE OF BIRD LIFE 



utilitarian phase. It was too fascinating a game 

 to be played only by pot-hunters. The Egyptians 

 of the middle dynasties were inordinately fond 

 of it. They hailed it as a sport for recreation 

 hours, though one highly advantageous to the 

 larder. From Egypt it spread to Greece and 

 later to Rome. 



The half-civilized tribes of Europe accepted 

 falconry in the same manner that China had more 

 than a thousand years before. It was merely a 

 new means of procuring meat, and apparently it 

 remained on that footing for several centuries. 

 The employment of it as a sport did not come into 

 vogue until the time of the first crusades and 

 probably was derived directly from the Saracens, 

 who had already followed it for centuries. At 

 any rate, the first great boom of falconry in Italy 

 and Ftance broke out in the ninth century of the 

 Christian era. In England all men, be they serf 

 or thane, had enjoyed its thrills and spoils, but 

 with the arrival of the Normans it became a "no- 

 ble" sport. Henceforth the high social status 

 of falconry was fixed throughout Europe. Only 

 the nobility could fly the best birds, and as a sport 

 it ranked on an even footing with stag hunting. 

 Centuries passed and its popularity waxed rather 

 than decreased. Then, one sorry day, gunpowder 

 and the fowling-piece appeared. The "kingly" 

 sport waned into obscurity until now it has only 

 a few followers in Europe. 



