Falconry

Falconry is the hunting of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer (German origin) flies a hawk (Accipiter and some buteos and similar) or an eagle (Aquila or similar). In modern falconry the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) and the Harris's hawk (Parabuteo) are often used. The words "hawking" and "hawker" have become used so much to mean petty traveling traders, that the terms "falconer" and "falconry" now apply to all use of trained birds of prey to catch game.

In early English falconry literature, the word "falcon" referred to a female falcon only, while the word "hawk" or "hawke" referred to a female hawk. A male hawk or falcon was referred to as a "tiercel" (sometimes spelled "tercel") as it was roughly one third less than the female in size. Many contemporary practitioners still use these words in their original meaning. The practice of hunting with a conditioned falconry bird is also called "hawking" or "gamehawking".

Falconry (album)

Falconry is the 2000 debut album by the Slechtvalk. This album was a sole effort of the musician Shamgar who played all the instruments and programmed the drums. The style is closer to more traditional, raw quality black metal with some symphonic elements, however, with inspirational lyrics. The album made Shamgar quite well known in the Dutch metal scene as the album was positively received by the press. He eventually pursued to turn Slechtvalk from solo project to a full band.

Track listing

Falconry training and technique

Training raptors (birds of prey) is a complex undertaking. Books containing hundreds of pages of information and advice by experienced falconers are still rudimentary at best. Many important details vary between individual raptors, species of raptors and between places and times. Unfortunately, without mentoring by an experienced falconer, raptors may be illegally taken and kept, and can be harmed by uneducated pseudo-falconers. Rather than attempt to train a raptor using only internet resources and books, it is wise to find experienced falconers and volunteer or apprentice with them. The keeping and training of any raptor is strictly and tightly regulated by U.S. state and federal laws. Anyone in the USA who is interested in flying raptors must seek out a state and federally licensed falconer to sponsor them through an apprenticeship period lasting two years at a minimum, and often considerably longer.

Equipment

The bird wears: