Oct. 21, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



243 



Address all commmicObkm to the ForeM and Stream Pub. Co. 



THE SPORT OF HAWKING. 



I.— The Peregrine Falcon. 



THE peregrine falcon (Faleo peregrinus) is well named 

 the wanderer, for it ranges from the northern shores 

 of the American continent to Tasmania, and from the ice 

 homid regions of Asia to the Argentine territory. For its 

 size it is tlie most powerful bird which flies, and among 

 all his fierce congeners there is not one to equal him iu dash- 

 ing liight and reckless courage, and few, if any, wliich 

 surpass him in destructive powers. 



The plumage of the adult bird is bluish-black above; 

 beiieath cream color. Tlie mider surface, with the ex- 

 ception of the chin, is traversely barred with black. There 

 is a black patch extendhig from the bill to the ear coverts. 

 The yomag, wlien fully able to fly. are blackish-brown 

 above and brownish white beneath, %vith brown-black 

 bars, which are placed longituduially instead of being- 

 transverse as in the adult. The form is comijact and 

 robust; the bill is short, very powerful and curved from 

 base to point, near which is a distinct strong tooth Nos- 

 trils circrdar, wings long and pointed. The peregrine is 

 a "dark-eyed hawk," a true falcon, the irides being dark 

 hazel. The total length of this hawk is about 20in. , the 

 wing often measures more than 15in. from base to tip, A 

 full grown female weighs rather above 2^1bs., a fine male 

 falcon but little over Iflbs. 



This falcon is not uncommon in the wild and moimtain- 

 ous portions of the Northern States, and breeds even in 

 the mountains of Massaclmsetts. It also builds its eyrie 

 among the cliffs of the Pennsylvania hills, and in the Adir- 

 ondack I have seen several magnificent sj^ecimens. It is 

 commoner on the sea coast than inland, andj)reys largely 

 on ducks and those birds, whence it has derived its com- 

 mon name of duck hawk. It kills its prey in the air, pursu- 

 ing it with the swiftness of an arrow and driving its great 

 talons deep into the body of its quarry. The stoop of a 

 peregrine is a beautiful and spirit-stu-ring sight; first as- 

 cending above its victim, it flies downward foi' a short dis- 

 tance to gain impetus, then closes its wings, and coming 

 obliquely tln-ough the air fearful speed, rakes its 



hind talons thi'ough the bn-d aimed at, the legs being kept 

 perfectly stiff and in one position. The quarry, unless 

 unnsualiy large and powerful, is generally kiUed"^ at once 

 by such lance tlmists, when the hawk seizes it ui its 

 claM^s. If the dead bird be not too heavy the hawk car- 

 ries it ofl: bodily to devom- it unmolested^ but shordd the 

 prey be a heavy du^ckit is pushed obliquely as it falls, so as 

 to drop in a suitable position. Snipe are one of its favor- 

 ite foods, and a peregrine will wait for hom-s on a tall 

 ti-ee beside a marsh, waiting for the longbills to take 

 flight, when it stoops upon them and seldom fails to secm*e 

 a victim. 



The falcons are dainty f eedei-s. Throwing a bird on its 

 back, it is held by the hawk's claws while the feathers are 

 torn oft by his beak; the prey is then broken up by bill 

 and talons and swallov/ed in lai'ge pieces, the least invit- 

 ing portions being left unless the cajjtured bird be a small 

 one. The flight of this species is wonderfully rapid and 

 powei-ful. It rarely sails, but flies in the manner of the 

 pigeon, and so swift of wmg is it that few, if any, birds 

 can escaiDe it when pursued. 



Tlie nest of the peregruie is built upon the most inac- 

 cessible mo\mtain peaks and cliffs, of twigs and grasa, and 

 is sometimes hardly more tlian a bimch of grass or sea- 

 weed thrown loosely into a hollow in the rocks. The 

 birds return year after year to the same locality, and are 

 bold and savage in the protection of theii' eyrie even before 

 the eggs are laid. 



The eggs are from two to fom' in nimiber, almost spher- 

 ical, and are reddish brown in color, marked with spots 

 of a darker shade. They measure about two inches in 

 length, and are deposited early in Aijril. The young are 

 at first tluckly covered with soft, white dcsvn"^ winch is 

 gradually replaced by the proper plumage. They are 

 ready to leave the nest by the latter part of May. 



Of all the falcons, the most effective in the hawking 

 field, the easiest to keep, and the most satisfactory for 

 general use is the j)eregTine. From the earliest records of 

 falconry this noble bird has been the idol of the falconer, 

 and in the allotting of hunting birds to degrees and orders 

 of men in bygone times the peregrine was given only to 

 the earl or his superiors iu rank. 



Falconry is a sport of very old date, it being known in 

 China as early as the year 2000 B. C. In Southern Asia, 

 too, tlie art of hawking is a very ancient one, and is also 

 practiced in great perfection at the present day. It was 

 inti-oduced into England about 860, and was for many 

 years the national sport. It is now practiced in that 

 country only by a very limited number of gentlemen, 

 falconers throughout the world the hawks are divided into 

 two great classes: First, falcons, long- winged or dark- 

 eyed hawks; second, short- winged or rose-eyed liawks. Of 

 the former the peregrine is the type, while the latter class 

 is well represented by the goshawk. 



Among all hawks the female is the largest, strongest 

 and most prized by falconers, and she alone is called a 

 falcon by them, her smaller mate being known as a 

 tiercel. Not only is the peregrine the most satisfactory 

 falcon to train and hunt, but it is the most easily obtained. 

 Either the wild adult hnds (haggards) may be caught and 

 ti-ained or the young bu-ds may be brought up in cap- 

 tivity. 



In several States of the Union the duck hawk, as before 

 stated, is moderately common, and the adult may be 

 captm-ed — along with many other common hawks — by 

 the folio whig method: Fu-st a bow net is requited, it con- 

 sists of a net of fine twine with sufficient "bag" to it to 

 make sure of the hawk not being injm-ed by ite pressure 

 when caught; the frame of tbe net consists' of two semi- 

 cu-cles or bows of iin. kon, looped together at the ends so 

 as to form hinges. The _ completed net should measure 

 3ft. Sin. from hinge to hinge, and rather more than 4ift. 

 the opposite way. To captaire the hawks a bhnd is first 

 built of branches and tairf large enough to contain the 

 falconer; a dozen yards away from this the bow net is 

 spread upon the ground, and one bow firmly pegged 

 thereto; to the center of the other bow is tied ti ])iece of 

 strong and flexible Ime, a soft trolling line answers ad- 

 mii'ably. The entire net is then lightly covered with 

 grass or weeds, and in its center is tied by one. leg a 



pigeon, to the other leg of Avhich is tied another line with 

 which to "stir it up" when a hawk appears in view. 

 Another pigeon or two near the net, each provided \\ itli 

 a sod box to retreat into on the approach of the liawk, is 

 not a bad thing. The mode of operation of the falcon 

 trap is evident; the falconer keeps close watch from his 

 blind; a hawk appears — the bait cord is twitched, and the 

 pigeon made to flutter— the falcon will probably stoop 

 down on the bait, and while he is killing it the net is 

 quickly jerked over him, and he is a captive. A rufter 

 hood, a pair of jesses, with SAvivel and leash, either one 

 or tw^o bewits with their bells, and perhaps a brail or two 

 should have already been prepared, and should now be at 

 hand. The rufter hood (Fig. 5) is a cap of stout chamois 

 leather, lacing up the back, and provided with a triangular 

 liole in front, through which the beak of the hawk passes. 

 Fig. 1 shows a very good and simple pattern for the hood, 

 the lines a a and a a are stitched together, and the edges 

 marked b c on both sides are sewn fast; three eyelet holes 

 are then punched at the sides behind, as shown in the 

 drawing, and a lacing string passed through them— a soft 

 corset cord has been used by us with satisfaction. A hood 

 before me, made for and worn by a red-tailed hawk, 

 measui es 2ui. across that part wliich covers the eyes, and 

 24-in. from edge of beak opening to back of hood, meas- 

 urements being made with a pair of dividers. A pere- 

 grme Avould not require one quite so large, but by far the 

 best plan is to model the cap over the head of a stuffed 

 bird of the same species for which the rufter hood is in- 

 tended. A jess (Fig. 3) is a strip of stout but soft leather 

 (heavy dog skin is to be preferred) half an inch broad at 

 its widest part, and Sin. long, in it are cut three longitu- 

 dinal slits iin. in length, as shown m the cut; they should 

 be well oiled and as soft as possible. Some of the hawks 

 proiier are so powerful and savage that they manage to 

 tear off any ordinary jess, and for them a stTap like 

 the one represented m Fig. 4 should be used. It consists 

 of a 2in. strap of heavy oUed leather iin. in breadth; i i 

 are four awl holes punched through the leather. Tlie strap 

 is brought round the hawk's leg, and a U-shaped loop of 

 brass wire forced through the fom* holes and fu-mly 



twisted together on the side opposite the curve of the U, 

 so firmly binding the straj) to the leg. A split ring is tlien 

 passed through the eyelet holes J j, and short straps fi-om 

 the leash looj)ed thereto. These straps should be placed 

 upon both legs like the ordinary jesses. Bewits are Ifin. 

 straps of the same leather as the jess cut, as shown in Fig. 

 2; at d is firmly sewn a light, clear sounding bell. Tlie 

 bewits are fastened round the legs above the jesses, and 

 are useful in following the hawk when flown at game, or 

 finding it when lost. They are put on at first in order 

 that the haggard may become accustomed to them as soon 

 as possible. The brail is a strip of soft leather with a slit in 

 its middle long enough to admit the pinion joint of the 

 hawk, and so confine the wing. The ends are tied together 

 on the outer surface of the pinion after having fii-st passed 

 under the wing. This is not often used except to confuie 

 vei'y violent newdy-caught birds. The newly-ca])tured 

 hawk is removed from the net as carefully as possible, 

 the hands being heavily gloved, and a rufter hood is 

 clapped over his head and laced fast behind. It is useless 

 to give dnections how, we practiced on a stuffed hawk 

 before we first attempted it on a living bird, and succeeded 

 fairly well in our first attempt; do the best you can, look 

 out for your fingers, and don't hurt the bird; of com-se, 

 you will need an assistant gloved like yourself. This 

 hood is never to be taken off until the" falcon shows 

 marked signs of "coming to" or becorping tame. It will 

 usually have to be worn at least two weeks. The jesses 

 are next put on as follows: The space between e and / 

 (Fig. 3) is for the hawk's leg; the point and slit li e are 

 brought round the leg and passed through the sUt /, after 

 which the end and slit g, and the whole remaining length 

 of the jess are palled through the cut e and then through 

 /. The jess will then take the position shown in Fig. 6, 

 "and is perfectly firm, and by far the neatest and lightest 

 fastening for the purpose. It is used by all European fal- 

 coners. The bewits are then fastened on as shown in Fig. 

 6, which rejjresents the foot of a hawk fully harnessed. 

 The free end of each jess is then looped romid one ring of 

 the swivel — Fig, 7 — ^to the other ring of which is then 

 looped a well oiled strap 4ft. in length; this is the leash. 

 The swivel should be very light though strong, and made 

 of brass or Gei-man silver. The rings should move freely 

 on one another, or the jesses will soon become tangled. 



The hawk is now tied, with only a few inches of free 

 leash, to a mound of earth and is left alone, protected 

 from sun or rain, for a few hours. At the end of that 

 time the hand or wi-ist, properly protected by a heavy 

 falconry glove, is worked under his feet and he is induced 



to step on to the wrist. The bird is now constantly car- 

 ried about on the hand, and frequently lightly stroked 

 with a feather. At the end of a few hours draw a piece of 

 very tender beefsteak over his feet; he will snap at it, and 

 as he does so sli|) a small piece into his beak, after several 

 attempts it \\'ill ] )r()bably be swallowed, and the first lesson 

 ■^vill have been comiileted. Carry him about as much as 

 possible and late into the night. On retiring tie the 

 hawk to a padded pole close to the ground in a room per- 

 fectly dark at all hours, so that no gleam of light may- 

 find him in the morning. Eepeat the process the nest 

 day, but now each time the hawk is fed IjIov/ on a chosen 

 whistle — a dog call is a good thing; constantly carry liim 

 about, the hood and jesses of course being always in posi- 

 tion. In a couple of' weeks the haggard 'will bend down 

 and feel for food as soon as he hears the whistle, and wili 

 feed eagerly through the hood. If he also steps quietly 

 up on the wrist when it is placed under his claws, and 

 sits quietly without bating or fluttering from the hand, 

 he is "coming to" or becoming tame, and training proper 

 may conrmence. 



Up to this time the falcon should have perfectly lean raw 

 meat; beef and pigeon have been found to be the best 

 foods for the newly caught haggard. He should be fed 

 twice daily for the first two weeks, early in the morning 

 and again late in the afternoon. The meat should always 

 be given in small pieces from the hand, and the whistle 

 must be frequently soimded while the hawk is making his 

 meal. E. W. Seiss. 



OSPREY OR EAGLE. 



VICKSBURG, Miss., Oct. 8.— For two weeks past a 

 very large bird, said by the local papers to be an 

 eagle, has been seen at times, generally in the morning, 

 perched upon the very top of the cross wliich surmounts 

 the steeple of the Catholic chm-ch in this city. As the 

 spu-e is a tall one, and the chm'ch itself is situated upon a 

 hni 2G0f t. orniore above the M ississippi River, the bh-d 

 was visible to almost the entne population, and was an 

 object of no Uttle attention and cmiosity. His regnolar 

 daily visits to his elevated position and his protracted 

 stay there led to tlie supposition that he took his break- 

 fast there, though no one could exactly determine with 

 the naked eye as to that, nor lay down to a cei-tainty the 

 character of his meal. Occasionally his highness was dis- 

 tui'bed by the whiz of a ball, when some amateur sports- 

 man violated tlie city ordinance by shooting within the 

 city lunits and took a crack at the bird . One claimed 

 finally to have broken a leg and cited in e\ddence that as 

 the bird flew a foot could be seen to hang down. The 

 bird circled about in the air for some time, hovered over 

 it without lighting, and finally went away and was seen 

 no more up there that day. The next day "he was back in 

 his usual position, but only for a brief time. The next 

 day he was absent altogether, and it was regretted by 

 some that the bird had been shot at and frightened from 

 his choice perch, but others suggested that he was off 

 foraging and would return as soon as a morsel could be 

 had. To determine something more definitely an en- 

 gineer's transit with a good telescope was obtained and 

 placed at a favorable window in Mr. Dorsey's store. But 

 it was not until this mornuig that the bird deigned to re- 

 turn. The window was lowered at once and just as the 

 instrument was focused on him, he took wing for other 

 parts. He was not in trim for inspection just then. An 

 hour later he returned in full dress, his chief embeUish- 

 ment being a good-sized fish which was held securely in 

 his left talon. The fish was not dead, as a hvely shaking 

 of its tail indicated; and it evidenced not the same relish 

 in the performance that the bird did. Tlie l^ird began at 

 the head, tearing it off and eating it by jiiec'es, and worked 

 his way slowly back toward the tail. The top of the 

 cross bemg round one way, considerable trouble seemed 

 to be had keeping the fish in place. The perch became 

 slippery and the fish would keep slipping down the side 

 of the cross, but the talons seemed equal to the emergency 

 and the fish was j)romptly hauled back each time. The 

 bird was occupied some twenty minutes over his break:- 

 fast, when the crack of a rifle rang out and he stopped to 

 think awhile. Then another crack of the rifle, and he 

 concluded he had eaten enough for the time being and 

 flew away in considerable haste. A Greedmoor shot of 

 distinction was here and was desirous of a shot, but failed 

 to get a rifle. We are unable to call the bird by name. 

 We take him to be a ha wk of a very large species. His 

 back and head are quite dark while all the imder feathers 

 are nearly wliite. Could you suggest his name? 



W. L. P. 



BURROW OF STRIPED SQUIRREL. 



TO-DAY I saw something that reminded me of the 

 erroneous idea that many peoj)le entertain in regard 

 to the burrow of the strijied squirrel. Most people thmk 

 that the squirrel while digging its burrow carries tbe dnt, 

 wliich it excavates while digging, away from the 

 entrance, and thus they account for the absence of a bank 

 of dirt. At the present time there are two burrows, one 

 finished and one unfinished, in sight of my house; and 

 to-day I saw the tenant of the completed one taking liome 

 a load of provisions in his cheeks for use after the dor- 

 mant season. The entrance is about ISin. north of the 

 trunk of an apjile tree, which stands about 12iii. from a 

 stone wall, and there are some hazelnut bushes by the 

 side of the wall, so that in approaching his dwelling the 

 squirrel climbs a bush that almost touches a limb of the 

 apple tree, jumps upon the limb and follows it to the 

 trunk of the tree; descending this he is within a few 

 inches of his burrow, which he enters to deposit his load. 

 On leaving he does not take the precaution to climb the 

 tree and run along the limb and descend the bush, but ' 

 runs upon the gTound. But I started to v\'rite you some- 

 thing about the method of constructing the burrow in- 

 stead of telling how careful its occupant is in getting to it 

 so that his enemies cannot track him there. The squirrel 

 digs a hole into the ground, leavmg the dirt which he digs 

 out at the mouth or'enti-ance, imtil he has got his subter- 

 ranean chaimel long enough, then he stops u]:i the mouth 

 of the burrow so nicely with dirt that tlu^ inexperienced 

 will not know where that little pile (a bushel or more) of 

 dirt came fi-om. The sqiui-rel now digs up to the surface 

 at the other end of the burrow. This leaves his new house 

 completed without any dirt about the front door. I have 

 said there is an unfinished burrow in sight of my house, 

 and my reason for calling it unfinished is because the end 

 of the hole where the dnt is dug out is not stopped up. 



Popgun. 



Tyngsborouoh, Mass., Oct. 13. 



