Some Books On Falconry

• North American Falconry and Hunting Hawks - Hal Webster (Editor), Frank L. Beebe (Editor); HC



• Art of Falconry Frederick Second of Hohenstau / HC / Pub 1943



• Bird of Jove (Louise Lindsey Merrick Natural Environment, No 17) David Bruce / PB / Pub 1994



• Equinox : Life, Love, and Birds of Prey Dan O'Brien / HC / Pub 1997



• Falconry : Art and Practice Emma Ford / PB / Pub 1998



• The Goshawk (Wilder Places) T. H. White, Steve Bodio / PB / Pub 1996



• Hawks in the Hand : Adventures in Photography and Falconry Frank Craighead, John Craighead / HC / Pub 1997



• Juliet : A Dream Takes Flight England, 1339 (Girlhood Journeys , No 1) Anna Kirwan, Lynne Marshall (Illustrator) / School & Library Binding / Pub 1996



• Passager : The Young Merlin Trilogy, Book One Jane Yolen / School & Library Binding / Pub 1996



• A Rage for FalconsStephen Bodio, et al / PB / Pub 1992



• The Rites of Autumn : A Falconer's Journey Across the American West Dan O'Brien / PB / Pub 1997



• Summer of the Falcon Jean Craighead George / PB / Pub 1979



• Discovering Falconry : A Comprehensive Guide to Contemporary FalconrySamuel R. Rowley / PB / Pub 1985



• Falconer Nicholas Coxe / HC / Pub 1991



• Falconry and Art Christian Antoine De Chamerlat / HC / Pub 1987



• Falconry and Hawking Phillip Glasier / HC / Pub 1998

Falconry

Falconry is an ancient field sport, practiced by the nobility of both East and West for more than a thousand years. In the Middle Ages, there were conventions regulating the sort of hawk that could be used, depending on the falconer's social status. Falconry can be practiced with a wide variety of hawks, from the 5-8 ounce kestrel to the five pound Golden Eagle. Naturally, the size of the prey will vary with the size of the hawk.

The first manual of falconry was written by 12th C. king Frederick Barbarossa, and the principles he laid down are still those by which hawks are trained today.

Perhaps one reason that falconry is not more widespread is that it takes an enormous amount of time to train and tend a hawk. The apprenticeship period required before a person is even allowed to own one (at least in California) is two years.

Hawks eat nothing but raw meat, each one individually fed on the falconer's fist. In order to digest properly, they also require the roughage of feathers, bones, etc., which they afterwards regurgitate in the form of castings. Therefore, it is necessary to feed them day-old chicks, quail, rabbit, rats and mice, and so on. In a pinch, raw beef will do, but they are very susceptible to vitamin deficiencies and their diet must be regulated with microscopic care.

A captive raptor is subject to many health risks. If their feathers get broken, they must be mended. There are various diseases, parasites and nervous disorders that must be guarded against and treated. Both beaks and talons must be clipped and filed to keep them in the proper shape.

Plus, of course, once the hawk is trained to the lure, it must be used to hunt live prey, at least during the winter season. From spring through early fall, the birds are molting and cannot be worked. Likewise, this is the breeding season, another factor that makes the birds too nervous and bad-tempered to work with.

There are many kinds of hawks, divided primarily into longwing and shortwing forms. The longwings hunt airborne prey, taking it on the wing, while the shortwings stoop to the ground and prey on rabbits, squirrels, mice, and so forth.

It is difficult to give an overview of the subject of falconry, because it is mostly a matter of endless detail. Nothing that I could tell you about the sport can convey the beauty and exhilaration of watching these graceful predators in action.