FOOTNOTES:
[30] Kulāh is the felt hat worn by Muslims.
[31] Jalqū; “Halsband, lit. neck-band; a contrivance of soft twisted silk, placed like a collar round the hawk’s neck and the end held in the hand; ...”—Harting. The object of the halsband is to steady the hawk and enable it to start collectedly when the falconer casts it at the quarry. In the East it is considered an indispensable portion of the equipment of every Sparrow-Hawk. It is also very frequently attached to the Goshawk, but is not, however, used with the Shikra. Zang “bell.”
[32] This anecdote is from the Shāh-Nāma.
[33] The T̤arlān and the Qizil are the same species; the latter is the local race that breeds in Persia.
[34] In Blandford’s Zoology of Eastern Persia the author states his opinion that the white goshawk is merely a variety of the common goshawk.
[35] Kāfūrī; adj. from kāfūr, “camphor,” an emblem of whiteness.
[36] Kulāg͟h-i pīsa “the pied crow”; qil-i quiruq T. “the pin-tailed sand-grouse”; hudhud “hoopoe”; kākulī, vide page 24, note 104, “a species of crested lark”; durnā “common crane.”
[37] Jerdon mentions a pure white goshawk as being found in New Holland, and states that Pallas notices a white goshawk from the extreme north-east part of Asia. Some Afghan falconers call albinos of any species taig͟hūn (tīqūn).
[38] In the adult shikra (wild caught), the iris is sometimes a deep red and sometimes a bright yellow. In “eyess” shikras, even after the moult, the iris is frequently almost colourless, the result perhaps of confinement in dark native houses.
[39] “Cast of hawks, i.e., two; not necessarily a pair.”—Harting.
[40] A contemporary of Napoleon.
[41] Lāziqī T., is said to be the name of a white flower: this is said to be the same as the gul-i rāziqī P., a kind of jasmine (the bel phul of the Hindus).
[42] A similar belief is current in parts of England with regard to the cuckoo, which, by some country people, is supposed to mate with the wryneck or “cuckoo’s mate.”
[43] This Ḥusayn ʿAlī Mīrzā was apparently the father of the author.
[44] The chukor (Caccabis chukor) of India and kabk of Persia, with its “joyous laughter,” enters largely into Oriental fable. On account of its cheery cry, it is a favourite cage-bird with both Hindus and Muslims. The male is also trained to fight. It is not an uncommon sight to see a man strolling along the road with a chukor, or a grey partridge, trotting behind him like a little fox terrier.
[45] “‘Reclaim,’ v. Fr. réclamer, to make a hawk tame, gentle, and familiar.”—Harting.
[46] Mīsh-murg͟h, lit. “sheep-bird” (Otis tarda). In Albin’s Natural History of Birds, it is stated that the goshawk used to be flown at geese and cranes as well as at partridges and pheasants. In Hume’s Rough Notes, there is an account by Mr. R. Thompson of hawking with the goshawk in the forests of Gurhwal and the Terai, the quarry killed being jungle fowl, kālij pheasants, hares, peacocks, ducks and teal. The peacock knows well how to use its formidable feet and legs as weapons of defence, and is a more dangerous quarry than even the common crane.
[47] Qizil T., means “red.”
[48] Māzenderān, a hilly province on the south coast of the Caspian.
[49] Madāmiʿ Pl. Ar. The author explains this to mean “having black under the eyes and under the chin.” Vide also [note 200], page 50.
[50] “‘Passage-Hawk,’ a wild hawk caught upon the passage or migration.”—Harting.
[51] Āhū; the Persian gazelle (Gazella subgutterosa). Unlike its congener, the Indian gazelle (the well-known chikāra or “ravine-deer” of the Panjab), the female of this species is hornless. A full-grown Indian gazelle weighs about thirty-six pounds, and stands a little over two feet high at the shoulder. “It [the goshawk] takes not only partridges and pheasants but also greater fowls as geese and cranes.”—Albin’s Nat. Hist. of Birds.
[52] “‘Put in,’ to drive the quarry into covert.”—Harting.
[53] A Persian falconer informed me that the Qizil is smaller, slower, and inferior in courage to the other races, and that it can readily be distinguished while in the immature plumage, but not after the first
moult. I was shown a moulted qizil and a moulted bāz side by side; except that the former was slightly smaller, there was no outward difference between the two.
[54] “‘Eyess;’ a nestling or young hawk taken from the ‘eyrie’ or nest; from the Fr. Niais....”—Harting.
[55] Vide page 8, note [50]. Chapter V of Bert’s treatise is headed: “Of the Eyas Hawke, [Goshawk] upon whom I can fasten no affection, for the multitude of her follies and faults.” The following quaint derivation is from the Boke of St. Albans:—“An hawke is called an Eyes of hir Eyghen, for an hauke that is broght up under a Bussard or a Puttocke: as mony be: hath Wateri Eghen. For Whan thay be disclosed and kepit in ferme tyll thay be full summyd. ye shall knawe theym by theyr Wateri Eyghen. And also hir looke Will not be so quycke as a Brawncheris is. and so be cause the best knawlege is by the Eygh, they be calde Eyeses.” “Now to speke of hawkys. first thay ben Egges. and afterwarde they bene disclosed hawkys....”
[56] Siyāh-yashmāg͟hlī T.; yashmāg͟hlī T., is a black handkerchief worn by women round the head. Perhaps in the text it means “black-headed.”
CHAPTER III
THE SPARROW-HAWK
Much that has been written of the T̤arlān Goshawk is also applicable to the Common Sparrow-hawk.[57] There are four varieties, the light, the dark, the khaki, and the tawny. Of these four, the khaki has the best heart. The eyes in this variety are small; and the smaller the markings on the breast, the more the hawk will be esteemed, for the more courageous it will prove: it is the opposite of the Qizil.
Into the azure vault of Heaven, my hawk I flew,
Whispering to it a prayer, “Oh Bird of Mine be true;
Come back to me!” But my foolish heart did not discern
That a hawk mid-air, well on the wing, could not return.
O Fate, whose face is veiled to me!
Return my hawk—propitious be!
With the Sparrow-hawk, I have myself taken teal, chukor, stone-plover,[58] black-bellied sand-grouse[59] and short-eared owl.[60] Considering its size, the Sparrow-hawk is the boldest as well as the most powerful of all the short-winged hawks used in falconry.[61] I have frequently seen sparrow-hawks (especially eyesses) “bate”[62] at hares, but I could never muster up courage to let one go, to see the result.
Young Passage Sparrow-hawk.—Should a very good young sparrow-hawk be brought to you about the time of year that the Sun first enters into Virgo,[63] which is about the time the Sparrow-hawks first arrive in the country, nurse her carefully, for she is well worth keeping. At this time she will be a mere nestling, scarcely in fact more than seven weeks old. Her bones will not be properly set and her whole appearance will be spare and weakly. Now, don’t be in a hurry to fly her, unless indeed you wish to spoil her. If you destine her for large quarry, such as chukor, seesee,[64] black-bellied sand-grouse, and the like, “man” her very carefully, and let her take no fright at dogs or water, etc. Next train her to come to the lure, or fist. When she will fly readily to the fist, kill a small chicken under her daily,[65] and gorge her on it,—day by day increasing the size of the chicken, till she will fly readily to it, and seize it in your hand, the moment that you present it held firmly by both its legs. Proud of the progress made by your pupil, you may feel inclined to release your grasp of the chicken’s legs, in order to allow her to kill it unaided; but on no account must this fatal inclination be yielded to.
Now, after the hawk has been called to, and gorged on, two or three chickens given in the hand, she must be entered to two or three flying pigeons; the pigeons, with shortened wings, being released before her, in such a manner that she may take them. Each time she takes the pigeon, kill it cautiously, and let her take her pleasure on it.
When she has taken a few pigeons in this manner, call her as before to a live fowl held by the legs, but this time call her to it from some distance. As soon as she comes and seizes it, which she ought to without hesitation, kill it, and gorge her on it.
As soon as her training reaches this point, she should be confined in a cupboard, some seven feet long by three and a half broad. The cupboard, which should first be thoroughly swept and cleaned, must be kept to such a pitch of darkness, that it will be impossible for its occupant to distinguish the day from the night. If much more light be admitted, the hawk, by bating against the door or wall, will probably do herself some irremediable injury. She should be fed every evening, three or four hours after dark, by the light of a lamp, being taken on the fist for the purpose, and allowed to eat her fill. Her principal food should be sparrows and young pigeons, but in any case she must have constant change of diet. When so gorged that she can eat no more, offer her water in a cup, flicking the water with the finger to attract her attention to it. If she drink, so much the better, let her drink her fill: but if she evince no inclination to drink, remove the water and replace her in her prison. This treatment must be continued for at least forty days.
After the expiration of forty days, reduce the quantity of her food for four or five nights, and carry her by lamp light; in fact treat her in every respect like a wild-caught hawk. Evening by evening, the amount of carriage must be increased, until she is thoroughly “manned,”[66] when she will be ready to obey her master’s every behest.
The above method has certain special advantages. During the rest in confinement, the hawk’s bones will become thoroughly hard and set;[67] and from the high feeding during that forty days, she will attain the growth and strength of a twelvemonth; and her toes will be long and thick; and even large quarry, such as chukor, pigeons, and black-bellied sand-grouse, will stand a poor chance of breaking away from her clutches.
It is of course understood that, if destined for large quarry, she must never have been flown at sparrows nor even given any small bagged bird whole, from the day you first get her till the present. She must be made to forget that there is such a thing as small quarry in existence, or that any bird is fit for food except partridge, and sand-grouse, or such large game.
Eyess Sparrow-hawk.—I will now instruct you in another method of training the Sparrow-hawk, by which, in the field, it will be no whit inferior to the goshawks of most falconers. In the early Spring, get some trusty fowler to mark down a tree, in which a pair of Sparrow-hawks are “timbering.”[68] A strict watch must be kept on the nest, and the first time the parent birds are observed carrying food to their young, the tree must be scaled, and all the nestlings, except the largest female, removed. The nest will contain from three to five nestlings. The whole attention of the parent birds will now be bestowed on the solitary occupant, which, by thriving apace, will fully repay the care lavished on it. The nestling must be inspected by the fowler almost daily, until the whole of the quill feathers of the tail and wings are out.[69] Then four or five days before it is ready to fly, he must “seel”[70] its eyes while it is still in the nest and remove it, substituting for it, one of the nestlings originally abducted. The nest will not then be forsaken: the parent birds will rear the restored substitute, and will year after year build in the same tree.
The nestling, its eyes “seeled,” must be conveyed carefully home, and its education conducted in precisely the same manner as already described. When taken up at the end of the forty days of confinement, your friends will probably delight you by mistaking her for a male goshawk,[71] so great will be her size. What a goshawk will do, she will do.
The author has also adopted the above plan with nestlings of the Shāhīn, the Saker and the Qizil Goshawk, with eminently satisfactory results. He humbly begs leave to add that the idea is an original one.