254 Acoipitkes. BIRDS. Falconib^. 
FALCONS. 
We now come to the consideration of the True or nolle 
Falcons, as tliey were formerly called, from the circum- 
stance that nearly all the species of birds employed in 
tlie favourite ancient diversion of hawking belonged to 
this group. These Falcons are distinguished from all 
the other birds of prey, by ha\dng the margins of the 
upper mandible not merely sinuated, hut armed with 
an acute tooth on each side not far from the apex. 
The other species of the family Falconidae were denomi- 
nated ignoble birds of prej’’, partly from their deficiency 
of courage, as compared with the True Falcons, and 
partly from the intractability displayed by most of 
them, which rendered them unfit for the purposes of 
the falconer. Arbitrary as this distinction seems, there 
is no doubt that the True Falcons, to a great extent, 
deserve the epithet noble ‘thus applied to them ; there 
is an elegance in their port and a boldness in their 
aspect which distinguishes them at a glance from most 
other birds of prey, whilst their astonishing power of 
flight and great muscular strength render them the 
types of predaceous birds. 
Before proceeding to describe any of these birds, it 
may not be amiss to furnish the reader with a brief 
sketch of the mode in which the hawks are trained and 
used in falconry. When they can be taken from the 
nest, their training is comparatively easy; they are 
kept ill sheltered habitations in the open air, and fed 
every morning and evening with beef or mutton cut 
into shreds, until they are about six weeks old, when 
their predatory instincts begin to show themselves, in 
the capture of any weak animals that come within their 
reach. They are then captured, their feet are confined 
with leathern manacles, called je9ses, by which they can 
be fastened down in the dark prison to which they are 
transferred, and their heads are covered up in hoods, 
which effectually prevent their seeing what is taking 
place around them. The nestling birds are denomi- 
nated niais in the language of falconers ; older hawks 
which are able to leave the nest, but can only hop 
about, are called hranchers; they are simply manacled 
and placed in a dark prison, in the same hooded con- 
dition as the niais, and their training presents little 
more difficulty. 
But when an adult falcon has been caught, the affair 
assumes a very difi'erent complexion, for he does not 
resign his desires of freedom without a long struggle. 
The falconer, having first of all secured his prisoner’s 
feet by means of the leathern jesses above mentioned, 
to which little bells are usually attached, takes the 
hawk upon Iris gloved fist, and keeps him awake and 
without food in a dark place until exhaustion begins to 
break his spirit. When the falcon is very obstreperous 
and attempts to use his beak, he is treated with a bath 
of cold water; but, notwithstanding these rigorous mea- 
sures, it usually requires three days and nights to bring 
him into a state of proper submission. His head is then 
covered with a hood, and he is by degrees brought to 
feed freely, his strength being at the same time kept 
down by the administration of little pellets of hemp, 
which have a purgative effect. When the bird takes 
his food without difficulty, he is induced to leap upon 
the hand by holding up his meat, with which he is then 
fed, and afterwards his food is given to him irpon a rude 
representation of a bird, called the lure, to which he is 
thus attracted from gradually increasing distances, being 
held all the time by a cord or string. When he 
becomes familiar with the lure, by associating it with 
his meals, he will pounce down upon it from almost 
any elevation. He is then taught to know his game, 
still kept from making his escape by means of a cord, 
and at last, when sufficiently trained, is allowed to fly 
freely in pursuit of birds and other animals. The train- 
ing of the Gyi'falcon is the most arduous of all, the pre- 
liminary exercises occupying a great deal of time ; the 
Peregrine Falcon is more docile, but even its training 
will require a month. 
The sport of falconry, which was so gveat a favourite 
with our ancestors, has now fallen into almost total 
desuetude in European countries; but in the East, 
especially in Persia and India, it is still followed with 
great zeal. There, as in Em'ope in former days, it is 
one of the favourite diversions of the princes and great 
men, and numerous species of hawks and falcons are 
trained for it 'wfith great care. 
THE GYRFALCo'n {Falco Gyrfalco), also called the 
Jerfalcon and the Iceland Falcon, is found in the nor- 
thern parts of both hemispheres, but is most abundant 
in North America. It is a native of this country, but 
has become exceedingly rare here of late years; in fact, 
most of the British specimens must be looked upon as 
stragglers from the more northern countries of Iceland 
and Norway, where these birds occur in greater abun- 
dance. If we may judge from the high value placed 
upon the Gyrfalcon in the days when hawking was 
a fashionable amusement, and the sums expended in 
importing them from Iceland and Norway, we may 
justly come to the conclusion that this bird was 
never common in Britain. The Iceland falcons were 
greatly preferred to the Norwegian specimens, their 
strength and courage being described as greater, and 
their flight more rapid and bold. Hence the falconers 
generally considered that the two birds belonged to 
distinct species, but this view is not adopted by 
naturalists. 
The Gyrfalcon measures from twenty to twenty- 
three inches in length; its plumage is of a white colour, 
while the whole of the back is marked with greyish- 
brown spots ; the bill is bluish, the cere and feet yel- 
low, and the claws black, exceedingly sharp, and much 
curved. The young birds are brown, and the white 
colour gradually encroaches upon this at each moult, 
until in the adults the whole brown surface becomes 
pure white, whilst the feathers of the back and wings 
retain the spots above mentioned. In very old birds 
even these disappear, when the plumage becomes nearly 
pure white. In a wild state, as observed by Sir John 
