A falcon is a hawk famous for its strength, symmetry and remarkable power of flight.
8 Fun Facts About Falcons:
- Its claws are sharp and hooked, its short, stout legs are heavily feathered and its curved beak is armed with a sharp point.
- The peregrine falcon was the one most used in hunting game (see below), but there are several other species that are almost equally powerful and graceful.
- The Greenland falcon is one of the best-known.
- Falconry, or Hawking, is the pursuit of game by means of trained falcons or hawks.
- The birds are trained to seize tlieir prey and return with it to their masters.
- In the Middle Ages falconry was the favorite sport of princes and nobles; and, as ladies could engage in it, it became very prevalent.
- In France it reached its height under Francis I, whose grand falconer had under him an establishment of fifteen nobles and fifteen falconers, costing annually about 40,000 livres.
- In Britain it was practiced among the Anglo-Saxons, but grew still more in favor after the Norman Conquest, only to decline in the seventeenth century, when firearms came into general use. However, it has never wholly died out in Europe.
Paul Manning talks about the art of falconry.