Falconry is the true Sport of Kings practiced by the nobility throughout the ages.

Practiced by many nations for over 4000 years, Falconry is believed to have originated in days gone by as a means to supplement food for the table, prior to the advent of the gun.

Legislated since Norman times, Falconry became a status symbol for many a monarchy.

Persons caught with birds of prey outside their social standing could be severely punished.

With the easy accessibility to firearms at the beginning of the 18th century Falconry slowly

faded into obscurity, until there was only a handful left practising this ancient sport.

Ironically the first rifle type gun invented was called a "Musket". A Musket is also the term

used to describe a male sparrowhawk, the most common bird of prey in the UK.  

Owls are the second least intelligent of ALL birds by virtue of brain size. First are the Ratite's.

(The Ratite family consist of the Ostrich, Emu, Rhea, Cassowary & Kiwi)

With the acquisition of American species such as the Red Tail Hawk & the Harris Hawk

falconry started to make a resurgence in the late 70's.

The Harris Hawk is now the most popular bird used in falconry.

The largest bird of prey in the UK is the White Tailed Sea Eagle.

Owls cannot turn their heads completely around and there is no such thing as

a "Wise" owl and most Owls hunt in the daytime.

The smallest bird of prey in the UK is the Merlin.

The fastest animal on the planet is the Peregrine Falcon which in test

conditions has reached a speed of 242mph (387km/h).

The most widely distributed land based bird, is the Barn Owl found all

around our planet except the poles. 

 Glossary or Terms used in Falconry

Austringer: A trainer of short & broadwinged hawks
Aylmeri anklets: Leather anklets attached to a trained hawk's legs

Bate, to: To try to fly when tethered
Bechins: Tiny pieces of meat
Bind, to: Describes when a hawk grips the quarry or lure with its feet
Bird of prey: A bird that hunts primarily with its feet
Block: A perch usually used for longwings and owls
Boozer: A falcon or hawk that drinks to excess

Bow perch: A perch usually used for shortwings and broadwings
Bowsing: Action of a hawk or falcon drinking

Call off, to: To call a bird from its perch
Call in, to: To call a bird to the glove or lure
Carry, to: To try to fly away with prey or lure
Cast: Two hawks flown together
Cast, to: To hold down and immobilize a bird by hand
Cast, to: To regurgitate the undigested pellet of fur or feather
Casting: An indigestible pellet of fur or feather (& sometimes bone)
Cast off, to: To propel a bird from a glove to reach flight speed quickly or to get to a pitch
Cere: The casing of the nostrils above the beak
Check off, to: To hesitate and refuse prey during flight
Check at, to: to change prey target during flight
Condition, in: To be fit and reliable to fly
Condition, out of: To be unfit and unreliable to fly
Cope, to: To cut and file the beak or talons
Creance: A long piece of string used for training a bird of prey. Derives from French "to reclaim a debt"
Crop: A storage sack in the alimentary canal which precedes the stomach
Crop up, to: To gorge or to give a good crop, often from prey

Draw the hood, to: To pull the hood straps (braces) closed
Diurnal: Of the day

Enter, to: To introduce the bird to prey or something new
Eyass: A young fledgling first year bird
Eyrie: A nest of a bird of prey

Falcon: Used to describe longwings (denotes a female)
Falconer: Generic term for a trainer of birds of prey, originally longwings
Feed up, to: To give a full crop of food (see gorge)
Fed up, to be: To be full gorged and unresponsive to being called in

Flush, to: To move quarry from its place of hiding, for a hawk or falcon to pursue 
Flying Weight: The weight a trained hawk returns reliably
Foot, to: To strike out with the foot
Footer, good: Describes a hawk that is good with its feet
Footy: A hawk prone to lash out with its feet
Follow on, to: To follow the falconer from perch to perch
Fret-marks: Marks of weakness on a feather due to stress

Get in, to: To get to the hawk after it has taken prey or lure
Gorge, to: To eat to capacity

Haggard: An experienced bird taken from the wild
Hawk: Generic term used to describe longwings, shortwings and broadwings
Hawking: Hunting with diurnal birds of prey
High: Describes a bird which is too heavy to be flown reliably
Hood: A head cap which covers the eyes of a hawk to relieve stress
Hood shy: Describes a hawk which tries to avoid wearing the hood

Hunger Trace: Marks of weakness on a feather caused by lack of food
Hunting weight: The weight a hawk enters to quarry

Imp, to: To mend broken feathers with previously moulted feathers

Jesses: Leather straps attached to the anklets of a hawk

Keel: The breastbone of a bird
Keen: Describes an eager hawk

Leash: Piece of rope used to tether a hawk to its perch
Low: Describes an underweight hawk
Lure: Imitation prey used to train and call in a hawk
Lure, to: To entice the hawk by means of the lure

Mail: The breast feathers
Make hawk: An experienced bird used to encourage the training of young birds
Make in, to: To move in close to a hawk when it is on prey or lure
Man, to: To "tame" a hawk to accept human prescence
Mantle, to: To spread the wings while feeding to cover food from other predators veiw (French "to cloak")

Mark, to: Where a hawk keeps looking, where it can see quarry, but waits for assistance
Mews: Indoor accommodation for a hawk, originally for moulting
Mutes: Droppings of birds of prey 
Nocturnal: Of the night

Petty single: The toe of a hawk
Pitch: Height a falcon reaches before stooping or height a hawk goes up in the trees

Pitch, to: To land

Put in, to: To drive prey into cover
Put out, to: To drive prey out of cover
Put over, to: To move food from the crop into the stomach
Pounces: The talons of a shortwing or broadwing
Point: The position of prey hiding in cover

Quarry: Prey a hawk is flown to, or offered

Rake, to: To fly far from the falconer or the point or try grab food off the glove
Rangle: Small stones or pebbles hawks & falcons eat to aid crushing food in the crop

Reclaim, to: To train a hawk after a period of liberty (see also Enseam)
Refuse, to: To give up or not fly to quarry
Rouse, to: To shake the feathers

Serve, to: To find and reveal quarry for a hawk
Sharp set: Describes an eager hawk
Shortwing: Of the family Accipiter - or 'True' hawks
Slip: A flight at quarry
Slip,to: To release a bird to fly to quarry
Static display: A display of tethered hawks
Stoop, to: To tuck in the wings and dive headfirst from a height
Strike the hood, to: To pull the hood braces open
Swivel: Metal piece of furniture attached between jesses and leash to prevent entanglement

Take stand, to: To perch in a tree

Tether, to: To secure a bird of prey to its perch
Throw up, to: To fly up after a dive or stoop
Tiercel: Originally the male peregrine, often describes male falcons
Tercel: The male goshawk
Tiring: Usually bone with a sparse amount of meat on it, used to work the beak and the neck muscles
Train: Tail of a hawk or falcon

Turn tail: To give up in mid flight

Yarak, in: Describes a hawk in good hunting condition (see also Sharp set)

Wait on, to: To reach a pitch & wait to be served
Weather, to: To put birds in the open air
Weathering-pen: A mesh-fronted covered shelter
Weathering-ground: An open area to allow birds to weather
Whistle off, to: To call off a hawk a perch with a whistle
Whistle on, to: To whistle to a hawk to follow on