556 
BIRD-LIFE. 
disposition, and strikes at the Heron. As soon as 
the Heron is caught the Falcon must be hooded, and 
the Heron in its talons is immediately exchanged 
for a tame Hen, while the leg of a Fowl is given 
to it to eat, so as to make it think it is feeding on 
the quarry it has just struck. The neck of the Heron 
must be well covered with thin sheep-skin, so as 
to preserve it from the talons of the Falcon. In an 
emergency a dead Heron may be used for training, 
by tying it to a string and swinging round and round 
in the air. To train a Falcon to fly at Kites and 
Harriers, a dead Hen is tied to the legs of the latter, 
and they are turned adrift when the Falcon is cast 
off. The training we have spoken of must, however, be 
carried out on horseback, so that the falconer may be 
instantly on the spot when the Falcon descends with its 
quarry. Such are the principal points to be attended to 
in training Falcons. 
At the present day, the sport of falconry is unfortu¬ 
nately at a discount, except in some few localities, and 
there are but few people who have ever been eye-witnesses 
of that magnificent sight,—a Falcon fighting mid-air with 
a Heron. According to Lenz, there are only four places 
in England, France, and Holland, where hawking is 
indulged in. In Northern Africa and Persia this sport 
is still common. In Africa every Bedouin Sheik has 
his Falcons. These splendid birds are so well trained 
that they will strike a gazelle, and, by fastening on its 
head and beating their wings, the quarry becomes so 
confused that the hounds have time to get up and pull 
down the game. It is said that, in Persia, Falcons are 
flown at foxes and wild boars. These birds are held in 
