Falconry Glossary

austringer : A falconer who hunts with accipiters (orig.); now includes both shortwings and broadwings.

alula : Three feathers springing from the base of the primaries. Synonym(s): alular quills

axillary : Ventral area between the body and the wing. Synonym(s): wingpit.

bal-chatri: np. A type of trap often employed in capturing {passage} raptors, which consists of a wire cage holding a prey item, where the cage is covered in lines with slip knots. A raptor landing upon the cage is likely to put a foot or toe through one or more of the slip knots. The falconer can then approach the raptor. Bal-chatri traps must be watched continuously when deployed to avoid having the raptor be tied too long to the trap; panicked raptors could damage themselves if left unattended on the trap.

bate/bating: To flutter off the fist or perch for a negative reason (fear, temper) when the raptor is restrained.

bell: A small round bell tied to the tail or legs of a hawk. The ringing of the bell gives away the location of a hawk that is down on its prey. This makes it easier for a falconer to locate a hawk that is hidden by dense cover or long grass. Some folks recommend keeping bells on the bird even when kept in the mews or weathering. The sound of the bell will let you know what the hawk is doing, especially if it is bating.

bewits: Small leather strips that fasten the bell to the legs.

bind: To seize and hold onto quarry.

brail: A long strip of leather used to restrain one wing of a newly captured raptor, to prevent it from bating. Not used in modern falconry.

broadwings: Term that describes inclusively the class of Buteo and Parabuteo.

cadge: A portable perch used to carry several raptors into the field.

carrying: A habit where the raptor flies, holding onto quarry just caught, either from the ground or as a continuation of a stoop. Most falconers prefer to discourage this.

cast: (n) Two hawks (or more) flown in cooperative hunting. Wild mated pairs will often work this way. Harris' hawks are well known for working together in groups. Nestlings that are raised together will sometimes be flown in a cast.

cast: (v) To wrap a raptor in a cloth to restrain its wings (see sock). This is done for many reasons: jessing a new capture, imping feathers, etc. Alternate to anesthetizing.

casting: (n,v) The indigestible portion of a raptor's meal (bones, fur, feathers) is formed into a compact ball (casting, pellet) and is disgorged through the mouth.

cast off: A raptor's launch from the glove

cere : Fleshy area between the beak and face.

check: When a hawk waiting on over a falconer, stoops at or chases wild game which the falconer has not intended the hawk to fly at. This happens when wild birds fly into or across the area where the falconer is hunting. The hawk is much more interested in stooping at the wild birds than waiting for the falconer to flush something for her.

cope: To trim the beak and/or talons of a raptor when they grow too long. This is necessary because they do not get as worn down in captivity as they do in nature. One way to assist the natural process is to allow the bird to get sunlight and an occasional light rain. This helps to exfoliate the beak. Another help is to feed them squirrel heads which they'll pick on all day!

crab: (v) Two raptors grappling in the air, whether over quarry, territory, or part of the mating ritual.

creance: A long line used to train the raptor to come to the falconer over a distance. Up to 75 yards long. Think of it as a long leash. Should be kept as thin as possible to avoid snagging on grass. I used Chalk line which is available in most hardware stores. The line I purchased is smaller than 1/8" in diameter but has a tensile strength of 185 lbs! Remember you're not towing a car!

dihedral : Wings of a flying bird held at an angle appearing to form a "V" shape.

enseaming: The process of feeding small stones (rangle) to a raptor in order to provide it with something to cast. A medieval method, but some still defend its value.

enter: (v) To train a raptor to a particular quarry or a new quarry. "I entered her on squirrels..."

eyess/eyas/eyeass: Refers to a raptor still in the nest, or a raptor of any age that was obtained as a nestling.

falcon: (n) Any bird of the genus Falconidae.

falcon: (adj,n) This term has also been reserved for female falcons only. Male falcons are called tiercels. See tiercel.

feak: (v) Scrubbing the beak against the perch or branch to clean it of excess food/saliva. Songbirds do this constantly; birds of prey, only after feeding.

flush: To chase or scare quarry out into the open or into the air where it can be hunted by a hawk. It is important for the falconer to do this at a time when his/her hawk is in the best possible position and has the best advantage to overtake its quarry. See also serve.

frounce: A disease in the throat and mouth of raptors. Pigeons are often attributed as being carriers of this disease but frounce is not limited to pigeons.

gauntlet: The facloner's glove.

gerkin: A name specifically for male gyrfalcons also called a tiercel gyrfalcon. See also tiercel and jerkin.

gorge: (n,v) To give a raptor as much as it can eat. "Has been gorged" or "Has a full gorge".

hack: (n) A state of liberty in which young raptors are allowed to run free and learn early hunting skills. It is provided with food and watched carefully for the day it doesn't eat it - indicating that it has caught something on its own.

haggard: (n) A wild adult raptor in its second year or more. A hawk used for falconry is a haggard if it was trapped from the wild in its second year or later, otherwise it is an intermewed passager or intermewed eyass.

halsband: A piece of light silk rope or cord about eighteen inches long that has a loop made at the top. The loop is put round the neck of an accipiter. The falconer then pulls down on the cord to bring the hawk into a horizontal position. The falconer then swings his arm forward hurling the hawk into the air at flushed quarry. This gives the hawk a boost in speed so that it doesn't to accelerate as much to overtake its quarry.

hawk: Used liberally to encompass all falcons, accipiters, and buteos. Originally used for birds belonging to the genus Accipiter.

hood: A leather cap that covers a raptor's head, blinding it; used to keep it calm in strange situations, such as traveling by car. There are several styles of hood; the most popular are Dutch and Indian.

imp: (v) To repair a raptor's damaged feather by splicing on a part of a moulted feather at the point where the feather has been broken. Accomplished by epoxying the feather back in place or replacing it. A bamboo strip is whittled down to fit inside feather shaft then the two pieces are joined and glued.

inner primaries : Group of primaries closest to the body.

inner secondaries :
Group of secondaries closest to the body.

inner wing :
Shoulder, secondaries and secondary coverts.

intermewed: (adj) A raptor that has molted while in captivity. Can be used to describe the age of the raptor, e.g. "3x intermewed passager" indicates the raptor was trapped during migration and has molted three times, and is thus in its fourth year.

iris : Colored part of eye.

jess, jesses,: Leather straps attached to the legs of a raptor

jess, slitless: Jess that has no hole, or a very small hole, used when the raptor is free-flying.

jess, mews: Jesses that have a slit large enough to pass a swivel through.

jessi: The jesses are then attached to a swivel and leash, or are held by the falconer while the hawk is on the fist.

jess, Aylmeri: A two-piece jess consisting of an anklet held in place by a grommet, and a jess that passes through the grommet. The traditional jess was a single piece: because they were only changed if broken, escaped raptors would get caught up in branches and die. The Aylmeri jess allows the raptor to pull out the jess portion, reducing the risk.

leash: Leather, nylon or bungee cord, around 3 - 5 ft. long, used to fasten the raptor to its perch.

longwings: Generic term for any bird of genus Falconidae.

lure: (n) A simulated quarry on a string used to train raptors, control their flight, or call the raptor in to the falconer.

lure: (v) To call the raptor in, using a lure.

make in to: To approach a raptor on game. This is done so as to not frighten the raptor into flight.

mandible : The beak or bill. Composed of two parts; upper and lower

manning, manned: The process of getting the raptor used to seeing people and not be afraid of them.

mantle: (v) To spread the wings and tail over food to protect it from being viewed by rivals (bird or human). NAFHH, however, defines mantling as the one-leg-same-wing stretch (see also warble), and names the above definition as "mantling over". (In the Wild) - Once the prey is subdued, the bird usually "mantles," spreading its wings out and over the prey. Mantling shields the prey from theft by other birds. Many bird-eating species pluck the larger feathers before tearing and consuming the prey.

mantle : (n) Upper surface of the wings and the back.

mews: (n singular) The main sleeping/living quarters for a raptor.

mutes: (n/v) The excrement of a raptor.

nape : Back of the neck.

outer primaries : Group of primaries farthest from the body.

outer secondaries : Group of secondaries farthest from the body.

outer tail feathers : Part of the tail farthest from the center.

outer wing : Alula and primaries.

patagial mark : Dark patch on leading edge of underside of inner wing.

passage/passager hawk: An immature raptor captured during its first southern migration.

pitch: (n) The height a falcon seeks to maintain while waiting for the falconer to serve it or flush quarry for it. (see waiting on).

primaries : Flight feathers attached to the "hand".

primary coverts : Feathers protecting and covering the primaries.

primary numbering : System for assigning a number to each primary. Click here for .jpg image of system.

put in: To hide in cover. ("The pheasant put in to that bush")

put over: To digest food.

rake away: When a hawk, waiting on over a falconer, leaves its position directly over the falconer by veering off in another direction in search of something else to do. The hawk may be bored with waiting for the falconer to flush something or may just enjoy soaring. Either way this puts the hawk out of position to stoop at flushed quarry.

rangle/rankle: Small stones fed to a raptor (see enseaming)

ring, ring up: The process taken by a falcon to attain its pitch. A falcon will gain height by flying in circles around the falconer.

rouse: (v) An action that all birds do, which involves raising all the feathers until erect, then shaking itself vigorously to allow the feathers to settle back into place.

row: A falcon's practice of gripping the perch with both feet and flapping its wings in place. Also used to describe flying in general.

secondaries : Flight feathers attached to the "elbow".

secondary coverts : Feathers protecting and covering the secondaries.

seel, seeling: A medieval practice of aiding or speeding up the process of manning a newly caught raptor by stitching the eyes closed with a single thread. This method has fallen out of use by modern American and European falconers, but it is used all the time by modern Arab and Indian falconers. When done properly it does not hurt the hawk and does speed the manning process.

serve, serve up: To provide a falcon with quarry, particularly a easy catch.

sharp-set: When a hawk is hungry or at flying weight having very little body fat; displaying qualities of eagerness to hunt.

shortwings: Birds of the Genus accipiter.

slip:(v) To provide a hawk with an opportunity to fly at game. This refers flying hawks from the glove. It is important that the falconer gets close enough to the game and give his hawk as much of an advantage as is needed for the hawk to be able to take the game in a flight from the glove.

stoop: (n,v) The head first dive of a falcon from a height.

strike the hood: To loosen the traces but not remove the hood.

suborbital ring : Eyelids.

subterminal band : Stripe before tip of tail.

superciliary line : Line of feathers above the eye. Synonym(s): supercilium, eyebrow.

supercilium : Line of feathers above the eye. Synonym(s): eyebrow, superciliary line.

tail numbering : System for assigning a number to each tail feather. Click here for .jpg image of system.

tarsus : Part of the leg between the knee and the foot.

terminal band : Stripe at tip of tail.

tiercel: Any male raptor. The term came from the size of the male raptor, which is typically one-third smaller than the female.

tirings: (n) Meat given to a hawk that is tough and tendony; its goal is to use a raptor's excess energy by making it work for its food. Example; squirrel heads.

toss-up: (n,v) The arc upward that a falcon uses to brake after striking the prey from a stoop or to use its momentum to take pitch over its quarry and make another stoop at her prey.

waking: A medieval practice of keeping the freshly captured hawk on the gauntlet/glove for the first 24 hours. The hawk remains there throughtout the falconer's daily activities and is never put down.

waiting on: The circling above that a falcon does as it waits for the falconer to flush game.

warble: The stretching motion that lifts both bent wings over the head until they nearly touch, and sometimes spreading the tail as well.

weather: (v) Letting the bird sit outdoors to take in sun and fresh air.

wrist : Area at base of the primaries.

yarak: (n) An Indian word indicating a readiness to hunt, often showing itself in certain postures. Generally only Accipiters, Buteos, and Eagles exhibit yarak.

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