see it clearly
Glossary of Falcon Terms
Austringa: A falconer.
Bate: A hawk is said to” bate “ when she flutters off from the fist, perch or block, whether from wildness, or for exercise, or in the attempt to chase.
Bewits : Straps of leather by which the bells are fastened to a hawk’s legs.
Bind : A hawk is said to “bind” when she seizes a bird in the air and clings to it.
Block: The conical piece of wood, of the form of an inverted flowerpot, used for hawks to sit upon; for a peregrine it should be about 10 to 12 in. high, 5 to 6 in. diameter at top, and 8 to 9 in. diameter at base.
Brail : A thong of soft leather used to secure, when desirable, the wing of a hawk. It has a slit to admit the pinion joint, and the ends are tied together.
Cadge: The wooden frame on which hawks, when numerous, are carried to the field.
Cadger: The person who carries the cadge.
Calling off: Luring a hawk (see Lure) from the hand of an assistant.
Carry : A hawk is said to “carry “ when she flies away with the quarry on the approach of the falconer.
Cast : Two hawks which may be used for flying together are called "a cast,” not necessarily a pair.
Casting : The oblong or egg-shaped bail, consisting of feathers, bones, &c., which all hawks (and insectivorous birds) throw up after the nutritious part of their food has been digested. Also the fur or feathers given them to assist the process.
Cere: The naked wax-like skin above the beak.
Check: A hawk is said to fly at “check” when she flies at a bird other than the intended object of pursuit.
Clutching: Taking the quarry in the feet as the short-winged hawks do. Falcons occasionally “clutch.”
Come to: A hawk is said to “come to” when she begins to get tame.
Cope : Cutting the beak or talons of a hawk.
Crab: To fight.
Creance : A long line or string.
Crop: A hawk is said to "put away her crop" when the food passes out of the crop into the stomach.
Deck feathers: The two center tail-feathers.
Eyas: A hawk which has been brought from the nest
Eyry : The nest of a hawk.
Foot: A hawk is said to “foot “ well or to be a "good footer" when she is successful in killing. Many hawks are very fine fliers without being good footers.
Frounce : A disease in the mouth and throat of hawks.
Flack: The state of partial liberty in which young hawks must always at first be kept.
Haggard: A wild-caught hawk in the adult plumage. Hood.
Hoodshy: A hawk is said to be hoodshy when she is afraid of, or resists, having her hood put on.
Hunger trace: A mark, and a defect, in the tail feathers, denoting a weak point; generally due to temporary starvation as a nestling.
Imping : The process of mending broken feathers is called imping.
Intermewed: A hawk that has molted in confinement is said to be intermewed.
Jack : A name for male merlins.
Jesses: Strips of light hut very tough leather, some 6 to 8 in. long, which always remain on a hawk’s legs; one on each leg.
Leash: A strong leathern thong, some 21/2 or 3 ft. long, with a knot or button at one end, used to secure a hawk.
Lure: The instrument used for calling long-winged hawks, a dead pigeon, or an artificial lure made of leather and feathers or wings of birds, tied to a string, with meat attached to it.
Mail: The breast feathers.
Make hawk: A hawk is called a make hawk when as a thoroughly trained and steady hawk, she is flown with young ones to teach them their work.
Man a hawk: To tame a hawk and accustom her to strangers.
Mantle: A hawk is said to “ mantle “ when she stretches out a leg and a wing simultaneously, a common action of hawks when at ease; also when she spreads out her wings and feathers to hide any quarry or food she may have seized from another hawk, or from man. In the fast case it is a fault.
Mew: A hawk is said to “mew” when she molts. The place where a hawk was kept to molt was in olden times called her "mew." Buildings where establishments of hawks were kept were called mews.
Musket: Male of the sparrow-hawk.
Mules: Excrement of hawk.
Passage: The line herons take over a tract of country on their way to and from the heronry when procuring food in the breeding season.
Passage hawks: Hawks captured when on their passage or migration.
Pelt: The dead body of any quarry the hawk has killed.
Pitch: The height to which a hawk, when waiting for game to be flushed, rises in the air.
Point: A hawk "makes her point" when she rises in the air over the spot where quarry has saved itself from capture by dashing into a hedge, or has otherwise secreted itself.
Pounces: A hawk’s claws.
Pull through the hood: A hawk is said to pull through the hood when she eats with it on.
Put in : A bird is said to put in when it saves itself from the hawk by dashing into covert or other place of security.
Quarry: The bird or beast flown at.
Rake out: A hawk is said to rake out when she flies, while waiting on (see Wait on), too far and wide from her master.
Ramage: Wild.
Red hawk: Hawks of the first year, in the young plumage, are called “red hawks.”
Ringing : A bird is said to ring when it rises spirally in the air.
Sails: The wings of a hawk.
Seeling: Closing the eyes by a fine thread drawn through the lid of each eye, the threads being then twisted together above the head; a practice long disused in England.
Serving a hawk: Driving out quarry which has taken refuge, or has put in.
Take the air: A bird is said to take the air when it seeks to escape by trying to rise higher than the falcon.
Tiercel: The male of various falcons, particularly of the peregrine; the term is also applied to the male of the goshawk.
Trussing: A hawk is said to truss a bird when she catches it in the air, and comes to the ground with it in her talons: this term is not applied to large quarry.
Varvels: Small rings, generally of silver, fastened to the end of the jesses, and engraved with the owner’s name.
Wait on: A hawk is said to wait on when she flies above her master waiting till game is sprung.
Weathering: Hawks are weathered by being placed unhooded in the open air. Passage hawks which are not sufficiently reclaimed to be left out by themselves unhooded on blocks are weathered by being put out for an hour or two under the falconer’s eye.
Yarak: An Eastern. term, generally applied to short-winged hawks. When a hawk is keen, and in hunting condition, she is said to be “in yarak.”