What is Falconry?

WHAT IS FALCONRY?

It’s a common misconception that the term “falconry” encompasses all of the things you can do with a trained bird of prey; instead, at its heart, falconry is a method of hunting. Various species of birds can be trained for this purpose — the eponymous falcons, yes, but also hawks and even eagles. The birds are trained to spot and kill their quarry, which is generally smaller prey animals like game birds and rabbits, and then return to the falconer’s arm. Usually, a retriever dog such as a Labrador will then run to the site of the kill and fetch the prey for the falconer.

THE SPORT OF KINGS

Falconry is such an ancient sport that we aren’t exactly sure when it originated. Depictions of people alongside birds of prey have been found in Mesopotamia dating back as far as four thousand years, but the first credible accounts of actual falconry have been traced back to the Mongols, circa 1700 BCE.

As time went on, falconry spread throughout Europe, where it became especially popular during the Middle Ages. Because of the cost of owning and maintaining a bird of prey, as well as the time and skill required to train such an animal, it became mostly a recreational activity among the upper echelons of society, though others did use falconry as their means of making a living. A pecking order developed among falconers of all classes, with one’s status dictating the sort of bird one was expected to train. A king might train a gyrfalcon, while an earl might fly an eagle and a lowly yeoman might fly a goshawk. Falconry was also practiced by women, with a smaller bird like a merlin considered appropriate for ladies.