CHC Apprentice- Glossary Terms Flashcards
Study CHC Falconry Apprentice Prep.
Abba, Aba, Abbah (plural Abbi)
Arabic word for “cloak”, a safe way to immobilize raptors during care such as trimming beaks and imping, etc. Made of breathable cotton with wing slots and an attached elastic strap. Protects the feathers from being badly ruffled or broken, and also allows bird to breath freely.
Accipiter
Short-winged forest dwelling hawk with rounded wings long tail and light eyes. Goshawks Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawk. Latin for genus of shortwinged hawks. Vernacular name for these birds.
Apprentice Falconer
Beginning stage of falconry in USA. At least 12 y/o pass written test showing mastery of book knowledge, sponsored under 2 year supervision of a master or general falconer. Prove to state wildlife required facilities and equipment to care for bird. Trap and care for passage Red-tail or Am. Kestrel.
Aleterio
Falconer who is flying Aplomado falcons.
Alethe
Female Aplomado falcon flown in falconry.
Arboreal
adj. inhabiting or frequenting trees
Aspergillosis
Asper- Form of fungal infection leading to lethal inflammation of the lungs. Fungal (mold) disease of the respiratory tract spec. air sacs and lungs. Almost always fatal.
Austringer, astringer, ostringer, autoursier
(1) One who flies a short-winged hawk. (2)One who keeps and hunts shortwings (accipiters) and broadwings (buteos).
Aylmeris
Aylmeri jesses Modern version of restraints to control raptors. Comprised of anklets bracelets/cuffs (around tarsi) mews jesses w/ swivel slit (used when hawk is teathered) or slitless field jesses (Whenever the hawk is flown free hunting). Required by law. Falconers should always change to a slitless field jess before flying the hawk free, or else if it flies off, high probability it would get hung up and caught on something.
Bagged quarry, bagged game, baggy, baggies
Live creature let out freely or restrained for the hawk to chase. Considered unethical when employed for everyday hawking. Only used when entering or natural quarry is very scarce, to ensure hawk will get a flight. (Also see trains)
Bal-chatri
Wire cage trap covered with monofilament slip nooses. Baited with bird or mammal placed in view of wild hawk for purposes of trapping without injuring both raptor and bait. Works well with ground-quarry-oriented raptors.
Barbary falcon (Falco Pelegrinoides)
Considered to be subspecies of peregrine, which it replaces in the inland desert regions of Africa. Red shaheen considered by some a genetically isolated subspecies of Barbary.
Barred Owl (Strix varia)
Owl size of Harris’ hawk allowed for falconry in CA but usefulness TBD. Intruding and forcing spotted owls from habitats.
Bate, to
Wild jumping off and beating of wings of a hawk attached to a perch block or fist. May be caused by wildness, fright, boredom, or temper. Also done toward lure or quarry.
Beam Feathers
The long feathers of a hawk’s wing, also called the “primaries.”
Bells
Small bells, usually of brass, nickel or stainless steel. Bells are attached to the hawk’s legs by a bewit, to the Aylmeri bracelet, to the tail on a tail mount, or around the neck on a halsband. The bells alert the falconer to the bird’s locations in the field, be that in a tree, in the sky or down on quarrry, an additional benefit is the ability to monitor the hawk’s activities in the mews or on the perch.
Bewits
Short thin strips of light leather by which bells are fastened to the legs. Recently, plastic tie-wraps or cable ties have become popular, but have many shortcomings and dangers.
Bind, to
Seizing quarry or lure with the feet in a tight, clamped-on hold.
Bird hawk
A hawk that preys mainly on other birds.
Block, block perch
(1) Upended log, cone or pyramid, usually of wood or stone, perhaps with padded top and swiveling right, to which a longwing is tethered outside. (2) A wooden or concrete perch with a padded top it tapers from the top to the bottom, and at the bottom end is a spike which can be driven into the ground.
Blood feathers
New feathers not yet fully grown, whose shafts contain blood at the top.
Bloom
A mantle of gray sheen which protects the hawk’s back feathers, keeping them waterproof.
Blue hawk
A peregrine in adult plumage.
Bob
Up and down movements of the head made by longwings when especially interested in something.
Bow perch, bow-perch
A semicircular bar or piece of wood, padded in the center with rope or heavy cordage, and provided with a tethering ring. The free ends are thrust firmly into the ground. Used for shortwings and broadwings that normally perch in trees when weathering outside. Also can be mounted to a heavy flat base for use indooors.
Bow net, Bow-net, Bownet
A net trap for catching hawks. Made of a semicircular bar of light tubular aluminum or wood, over which is stretched netting. One half-loop of a circular net is folded back upon the other half when set. Either sprung automatically by springs or elastic.
Bowse, to
Drinking by a hawk. Hence bowzer, or boozer and boozing.
Brace, braces, traces
The leather straps or braces whereby a hood is loosened (to strike the hood) or tightened (to draw the hood).
Brail, brayle
A long soft leather strap with a three or four inch slit in the middle and used to restrain a wild hawk. One wing is held in the slit, and the other two ends of the brail are tied about the bird so that the other wing is free. The brail prevents bating and calms restlessness.
Brancher
(1) A young bird of prey which has leff the nest, but is still learning to fly and is fed by its parents. (2) A young raptor capable of testing its wings by hopping from branch to branch in its nesting tree, but that has not yest successfully flown. Also called a ramager.
Break in, to; break-in, to
The act of breaking through a kill’s skin- usually staring at the soft underbelly. The hawk breaks into its quarry when having caught and plumed (or plucked) it, starts to eat.
Broodling
Parental sitting on or over the young, as opposed to incubation (sitting on eggs).
Brown hawk
a British term for an immature peregrine.
Broadwinged hawks
The vernacular name for the species of Buteo or Parabuteo, the soaring hawks. Usually described as having large core wings and a short, stubby tail. Classical falconry did not use broadwinged hawks as european buteos lack the spirit to cooperatively hunt with men for quary much larger than mice. Only with the discovery of this spirit within the red-tail, ferruginous, and Harris’ hawks found in the new world, have these birds been used for falconry. American falconers are restricted to the use of the red-tail and the kestrel for apprenticeship and therefore tend to discount the red-tailed hawk as a “serious bird of prey. English falconers appreciate both the red-tail and the ferruginous hawks as extremely serious birds of prey. (Also see Buteo)
Broad-winged hawk (Buteo playtypterus)
A woodland buteo about the same size as a Cooper’s hawk and with nearly the same coloration, slightly smaller than the red-shouldered hawk. Avg. measurements: length 15” wingspread: 34” weight 401g or 14oz.
Bumblefoot
An infection in the bottom of a hawk’s foot. It is difficult and time-consuming to cure and can cripple or kill a hawk.
Buteo, buteo, buteos
(1) The Latin name for a genus of raptors. The buzzards of classic falconry, they are now sometimes termed broadwinged hawks, broadwings, or just “buteos.” the use of “broadwings” is generally accepted today. (2) Buteo is Latin for “kind of a hawk or falcon.” “Buzzard” is the proper name for these raptors. Its comes from the same latin root as buteo through old french and old english.
Buzzard
European vernaular for the buetos. When english colonists came to the new world, they used “buzzard” referring to vultures in error. This led to the ultimate confusion between hawks and buzzards. The red-tailed hawk should be called a “red-tailed buzzard,” and it is in Europe.
Cadge
(1) A portable perch used for carrying hawks in the field. From this, the common terms “codger” and “cad.” (2) A low rectangular frame, with padded edges, for carrying hooded hawks. A leg at each corner allows the cadge to stand on the ground without disturbing the perched hawks. A traveling cadge often takes the shape of a lidless box, with a perch across, in which the droppings (mutes) are caught. the cadge is carried by a cadgeman, hence “cadging a lift.”
Call, to; Call off, Calling off
(1) To attract a hawk to the trainer by voice, signal, or lure from a perch or from an assistant. (2) During training or for exercise, a falconer calls off a hawk when getting it to fly to him/her from the fist of an assistant or from a perch some distance away.
Captive breeding
As applied to falconry, the (sometimes commercial) breeding of captive birds of prey. Captive-bred raptors may be bought, sold, and transferred. Captive breeding became popular among falconers in the 1960s to produce falconry hawks of species whose numbers were in sudden decline. One result of these programs has been the release of breeding stocks of the endangered peregrine. In captive breeding parlance, F1 describes the first generation from wild-taken parents. The F2 generation’s parents were the F1. The F2 are currently considered “domestic” fowl.
Carry; to carry
(1) When a hawk flies off with the quarry it has just killed as the falconer is approaching, it is carrying (an annoying habit, not easily cured). Merlins prone to it. (2) The act of carrying a hawk on the fist to man it.
Cast, a
Two or more hawks flown together, traditionally longwings, at a difficult quarry. Flying hawks together in a cast made a kill more likely in a reasonable distance, and much of the beauty of the flgiht is in the way the hawks work together.
Cast, to
(1) To propel a hawk forward off the fist to get it airborne. (2) The act of disgorging a pellet of the undigested parts of a meal (fur, feathers, bones, etc.) (3) To hold a hawk in a cloth between the hands for imping, putting jesses on, or other stressful tasks.
Casting
An ovoid wad of indigestible feathers, fur, toes, bone, fragments, snake scales, and the like, separated from meat in the hawk’s stomach, bound together by the superfluous mucus or gleam from the stomach and regurgitated some hours after eating.
Cere
The bare, waxy area between the beak and crown of a raptor.
Check, to; to fly at check
To change from one quarry to another during flight or to hesitate because of sighting another quarry. (Also see Rake away)
Chick, cockerel
A day-old male chicken: Used by some falconers as either a supplement to the diet or as tid-bits for hawks. Chicks lack the complete nutritional value needed by hawks for good health.
CITES
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. An international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
Clutch
The number of eggs laid and simultaneously incubated by a female during nesting.
Condition
Most often refers to the weight of the hawk relative to flying weight. The hawk is in high condition when fat and in low condition when too thin. In correct condition, hawk is at flying weight or “combat weight.”
Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Crow-sized accipiter midway between the size of the goshawk (A. gentilis) and the European sparrowhawk (A. nisus). Found only in the new world and unknown to classical falconry. More inclined to hunt out over open fields than goshawks. Excellent falconry bird, most often taken as eyass. Avg. Measurements: males- length 15”; wingspread 29”; weight 341g/12oz. females- length 18”, wingspread 33”, weight 528g/19 oz. Weights given are natural history info of free-flying hawks and not guides for your hawk’s flying weight.
Cope, to
To trim or cut back and reshape an overgrown talon or beak.
Crab, to; crabbing
When one hawk seizes another hawk, either by mistake when with another on quarry, or on purpose when quarreling or fighting.
Creance
A light line atttached to the swivel of a partially-trained hawk before being allowed to fly free.
Crines
The short hairlike feathers about the cere.
Crop
Vasuclar sac above the breast bone where food is first stored as soon as it is swallowed. It permits storage of a large amount of food which is later digested slowly in the stomach.(Also see “Putting over the crop”) (2) The full amount of food a hawk can consume at one feeding.
Crossing flight
When some other bird flies between the hawk and the quarry being pursued.
Deck feathers
The two center and dorsal-most feathers of a hawk’s tail, or train. They come straight out in a parallel line with the backbone, whereas those to right and left can be spread out fanwise.
Desert falcon
term applied to members of the genus Falco that are cold-hardy, heat-tolerant, and found primarily in the dry land biomes.
Dho-gazza, Dho-ghazza, Dho-gaza
Square or rectangular net of various dimensions suspended vertically next to a live bird. It is secured loosely so that is drops over a hawk that atttacks the bait. A trap from the Middle East.
Dirt hawker/bagger
Slang term used to describe those who fly Harris’ hawks, usually at rabbits.
Dispersal
Unpredictable and multidirectional movements from a common point or origin. In predatory birds, dispersal occurs shortly after fledging (juvenile dispersal) or by adults after breeding (post-breeding dispersal).
Diurnal
Active during the day, as opposed to nocturnal.
Downwind
Flying with the wind.
Draw, to
(1) To draw a hawk from the mews is to take it up for the first time after it completed the moult. Comes from withdrawing a hawk from moulting quarters. (2) To draw the hood is to tighten the braces which keep the hood on, as opposed to striking the hood or loosening it.
Droppings
Normally called mutes -longwings, or slices -shortwings and broadwings, if expelled out with some vigor. If merely dropped down as of a domestic fowl, then they are droppings.
Endangered
A conservation category defined by the International Council for Bird Protection -ICPB, as including those taxa that are in danger of extinction and whose survival is unlikely if the factors causing their decline continue operating. “Endangered” is defined by the U.S. Endangered Species Act as including taxa in danger of extinction throughout a significant portion of their ranges based on the best available information.
Enseam, ensayne, to
The act of cleansing or purging a hawk of unwanted fat after a period of idleness and so making it ready to fly. The process of ridding the hawk of internal fat at the end of the moult. Most falconers simply diet their hawks. In old days and to a much lesser extent today, falconers fed their hawks small stones or rangle. The action of these in the stomach loosened the grease and when the stones are cast up, they are smothered in this grease.
Enter, to enter, entering
The setting up of a situation whereby a raptor in training is sure to be able to catch a kind of quarry new to it. The first time a hwak is flown at a particular quarry, it is entered to that quarry. A hawk is entered to the lure the first time it comes properly to it, after which it can be defined as made to the lure.
Eyass, eyas, eyess
(1) from the French niais=a nest, in turn from the latin nidasius=a nest, referring ot the fact that an eyass is a hawk taken from the nest: a nestling. If taken from the nest for falconry, it is always described thereafter as an eyass, as opposed to grown birds trapped during their first passage in life. Can also mean young raptors while they are still in the nest.
Eyrie, Aerie, eyry
The Hawk’s nest, or place where the eggs are laid if she has not built a proper nest.
Extender (Jess)
An “extension” of a portion of the tethering system located between the swivel and the jesses to further separate the two and help prevent tangling.
Falco
Lating name of the genus that includes the eight species of longwings in North America, The terms Falco and “falcon” are derived form the Latin falx, meaning “sickle” in reference to the falcon’s wing shape in flight or the shape of their beaks and talons.
Falcon
As a traditional falconry, term, it describes the female peregrine. Recently the term has become slang to denote any longwing, male or female, as opposed to any hawk or shortwing.
Falconry
The taking of wild quarry in its natural state and habitat, using trained birds of prey.
Feak, to
When a hawk cleans its beak on the perch after feeding, wiping it briskly back and forth. A sign of great confidence and well-being if a hawk will do this on your finger or glove. An ailing hawk will rarely, if ever, feak.
Feed-up, to; to be fed up
When a hawk is fed above flying weight to start moulting, in preparation to release, routine feeding at the end of the day, or some other activity.
Ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis)
Largest of new world buteos. A raptor of the open plains, unknown in classical falconry, illegal to trap in CA. Avg. Measurements: length 23”, wingspread 56”, weights 1578g/56oz.
Festoon
The scalloped lower back edge of the upper mandible used to slice meat when the hawk eats its prey.
Fetch, to
When a longwing catches up to its quarry and turns it, or starts to work it, the longwing is fetching it.
Fist
Vernacular term for the falconer’s gloved and protected hand, wrist and forearm. A hawk “feeding on the fist” is eating a piece of meat held by the falconer while perched on the falconer’s gloved hand.
Fistbound
A hawk that does not hunt wild quarry because it has been spoiled by easily earned meals provided on the glove. Aka, a pet.
Flags
The secondary feathers in the wing, lying next to the primaries.
Fledge, to
The achievement of flying for the first time.
Fledgling
A young hawk that has only recently learned how to fly and is still dependednt upon its parents for food.
Flight feathers
The main feathers used in flight, the primaries and secondaries.
Flush, to
The act of causing game, quarry, or prey to bolt from cover.
Flying weight
The weight at which the hawk is healthy enough to fly and hunt, yet sufficiently hungry to respond to the falconer’s control and to any quarry that is flushed. Keen, sharp-set, combat weight.
Foot, to
(1) A hawk foots quarry when clutching it with intent to kill. A bad footer is clumsy or inaccurate with its footing. Good footer is a hawk that clutches and holds well. (2) One of several manifestations of eyass aggression toward the falconer. Eyass red-tails will occaisionally foot and bind to the falconer’s hand. Eyass Cooper’s, if taken too early, tend to attack the falconer’s face. Eyass ferruginous have been reported to attack the falconer’s face and upper body. Attacks can be predicted and prevented with experience.
Free-lofted
When the hawk is allowed free flight in the hawk-house rather than being tethered.
Fret marks/Stress marks
Usually found on the tail of a raptor, generally thought to mark a point in feather growth when there was prolonged nutritional or psychological stress.
Frounce
Canker or sore in the mouth and throat, usually seen as a colored coating on the tongue. A disease of the upper digestive tract, caused by the protozoan Trichomonas gallinae, usually contracted from eating infected pigeons and doves. Formerly the most common lethal disease afflicting trained raptors, now easily ans very quickly cured by oral administration of certain drugs.
Full-summed, fully summed
At the end of the moult, when all the feathers which are going to be renewed that year are completely grown out. There is not necessarily a complete renewal every year. Describes an intermewed raptor upon the completion of the moult. The feathers are no longer in blood.
Game
Traditionally only pheasant, partridge, and grouse are referred to as game. All other animals the hawks are released after to chase are called quarry.
Gamehawk or game hawk
Strictly speaking, the gamehawk is a longwing trained to wait-on and take game, flushed by the falconer and/or dog. “Hawking” describes all other flights at quarry, all other birds and mammals, not from a waiting-on position.
General falconer
The 2nd stage of contemporary falconry. An apprentice, 16 years or older, may advance to general with the approval of the sponsor after a minimum period of two years. General falconers may posses any of the legal falconry birds, capture eyasses, have three falconry raptors at any one time, but only two of these can be wild caught, and may sponsor apprenctices after two years’ experience as a general.
Gleam
(1) A sort of slime which a hawk sometimes throws up casting. (2) Also the slightly slimy coating of the casting.
Gorge
To allow the hawk to eat as much food as it can at a single meal.
Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)
The largest accipiter. Well known to classical and modern falconry. The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon words gos, for goos, and havoc, for hawk- a hawk that captures geese. “Gentilis” latin for “noble”. Avg. Measurements: males, length 19”, wingspread 39” weight 816g or 29oz. Females: length 23”, wingspread 43”, weight 1059g or 37oz.
Great-horned owl (Bubo Virginianus)
Along with barred owl, one of two owls legal for falconry in California. Avg. Measurements: 18”-25”, wingspread up to 60”, weight: males 1318g/46.5oz, females 1769g/62.5oz.
Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus)
An extremely popular bird in modern falconry. They are well known for chasing their quarry long distances and a disinclination to wait-on. Avg. Measurements: males- length 20”, wingspread 45”, weights 1135g/40oz. Females- length 23”, wingspread 50”, weight 1700g/60oz. Pronounced “jer-fal-ken” or “jeer (rhymes with cheer)-falcon.
Hack (wild hack)
Flying at hack is the practice of allowing young birds (usually only longwings) to fly freely about, sometimes for as long as 6-7 weeks, after they have been taken from the nest and before their training or reclaiming starts. Hack-bells are especially large bells they often wear, designed to prevent them making a kill on their own account when at hack. The falconer provides food tied to a hack-board, at a specific time and place every day. Eventually the hawk kills for itself and doesn’t return to hack-board. This is signal that hawk has learned to hunt on own. Next time the hawk shows to meal, falconer takes it up. (See “tame hack”)
