FalconryIn falconry, a lord would use a magnificent bird-of-prey, the falcon, to kill another bird or small ground-base game in this type of sport. A falcon is a fiercely intelligent bird that is trained by the lord's falconer.
A falcon was trained to locate, attack and kill another bird in mid flight. Female falcons were used rather than males due to their larger size and greater tenacity. The process of training a falcon was both tedious and difficult, requiring great skill and patience on the part of the falconer.
The falconer wore thick leather gauntlets, allowing the falcon to perch on his wrist, where he would feed the falcon by hand to foster trust between falcon and falconer. When the falcon was eventually tamed, a bell was tied to the falcon's leg and when necessary a hood was placed over its head to keep it quiet.
A falcon was trained by tying a leash to one of its legs and allowing it to fly short distances, returning to the falconer's wrist upon hearing a whistled cue. Upon a successful flight and return, the falcon would be rewarded with a small piece of raw meat. The falcon would then be trained to attack similar small pieces of meat. After the successful completion of such training, the falcon was released from the leash and allowed to hunt for itself.
When the falcon succeeded in killing its prey, the falconer would reward the bird with food. Initially, the falcon would hunt small "easy" prey, eventually being given larger birds and land-game to hunt. Hounds were used to initially assist the falcon in its hunt. Eventually, though, the falcon became so well trained that it was able to kill large birds and small land animals unassisted. At this point, the bird became the lord's hunting falcon.
Author
