198 ART AND PRACTICE OF HAWKING 



rooks, never the most attractive of quarry. Many a good 

 falconer will prefer to call down the hawk, and, leaving the 

 rook to congratulate himself on his escape, reserve her for a 

 fresh start at a quarry which she will have a fairer chance of 

 catching. In lark-hawking, unless the country is extremely 

 open, cases of this kind often present themselves. 



On the other hand, if there is a really good prospect of a 

 successful flight when the fugitive is routed out, it is, of course, 

 very encouraging to the hawk to put him up. Every effort 

 should be made to do this when the hawk is waiting on in a 

 good position, so that, having killed, she may be pleased with 

 the whole performance, including the men's share in it, and may 

 perhaps imagine that the reason the quarry was got out so con- 

 veniently for her was because she waited on well. Hawks, 

 whether waiting on in the air or at perch in a good place, soon 

 get to know very well what the men are about when hunting up 

 a bird that has put in. In the case of merlins, which naturally 

 stand by on the ground while a lark is being searched for, it is 

 almost always better to take them up on the fist as soon as it is 

 determined to pick up or try to capture the quarry. Otherwise 

 the lark, having his wits about him, may take advantage of a 

 moment when the hawk is looking the wrong way, and slip off 

 unseen by her. Moreover, even if she sees him go, she will not 

 start from the ground with so good a chance as from the eleva- 

 tion, small though it is, of your fist. As for sparrow-hawks and 

 goshawks, they may, when a quarry puts in, either be called to 

 the hand or allowed to wait close by at the standpoint which 

 they themselves chose. Many of them prefer the latter plan 

 whenever there is a tree handy, as from it they get a better view 

 and more impetus for their stoop. Lanners, when flown at 

 partridges in an enclosed country, may also be encouraged to 

 go to perch in this way. 



There are some occasions when it is quite permissible to 

 capture with the hand a bird which has put in. Suppose that you 

 are carrying a first-rate merlin which is short of work and for 

 which you are particularly anxious to find hard flights and 

 plenty of them. Now, when a lark gets up which is either so 

 young or so deep in the moult that he cannot live long in the 

 air before such a merlin, you are in presence of that very 

 eventuality which you most wished to avoid. There is the 

 prospect of a quick and easy kill, which is about the least likely 

 thing in the world to encourage a hawk to a severe flight after- 

 wards. The best that you can hope for is that the lark, seeing 



