18 ART AND PRACTICE OF HAWKING 



snipe, jackdaws, kestrels, and smaller birds. In India her list 

 includes wild geese, cranes, bitterns, ibis, and bustard. 



The male peregrine — always called a tiercel (tassel, or 

 tiercelet), because he is about a third smaller in size than his 

 sister — may be flown at gulls, teal, widgeon, partridges, wood- 

 cock, landrail, starling, and the smaller sea birds, magpies, and 

 doves ; and when exceptionally strong and courageous, will 

 succeed to a greater or less extent with rooks, crows, jackdaws, 

 grouse, wood-pigeons, and kestrels. In India and Eastern 

 countries the francolin and the florican, and several sorts of 

 duck and plovers, may be added to the list. 



The peregrine at different ages was described in old times 

 by a great variety of names, some of which are now little used, 

 or even understood. Thus, in the eyrie or nest, from the time 

 when she was " disclosed," or hatched, for a fortnight or three 

 weeks she was called an eyess (or nyas, from the French niais). 

 When able to move about on her legs she became a ramage 

 hawk ; and when she could jump or flit from branch to branch, 

 a brancher. After leaving the nest and becoming fledged, as 

 the term is for other birds, she was described as a soar-hawk 

 or sore-hawk (French, sor, from the Latin saurus, reddish 

 brown) ; and when her feathers were all fully grown down she 

 was said to be summed, whereas before this time she remained 

 unsummed. The period during which she could properly be 

 called a soar-hawk lasted, according to some eminent writers, 

 from June 15 to September 15, when the migrating time begins, 

 and she came to be more properly spoken of as a passage- 

 hawk (or true pdtirin). This designation carried her down to 

 the end of the year, when she assumed, according to the French 

 falconers, the title of antennaire ; that is to say, a hawk whose 

 feathers, or whose whole self, belong to last year {antan}. Many 

 of the English falconers, however, gave her no new title until 

 at or near the arrival of Lent, when they called her a Lantiner, 

 Lentener, or Lent-hawk, for as long as Lent lasted, that is to 

 say, till near moulting-time. The great similarity of the two 

 names Lantiner and Antennaire, given as they were to the 

 same hawk at the same time of her life in the two countries, 

 suggests a strong doubt whether the former was not a mere 

 corruption of the latter. During the whole of this time the 

 unmoulted peregrine was known, from the colour of her plum- 

 age, as a red hawk ; and this term is still constantly employed. 

 Many writers also called her during the same period merely 

 a soar-hawk, neglecting the finer distinctions. It seems also 

 that for a hawk which had been taken in August or there- 



