Page 124 - Arabian Studies (II)

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116 Arabian Studies II
even flying well wide of the quarry to achieve this. When it closes
with its quarry it has another advantage over the peregrine in its long
legs which can hold a struggling hare out of the reach of the latter’s
vicious kicks. With the saluki and the pure bred riding camel, it is
called liurr, an epithet denoting both freedom and nobility.
2. The peregrine (falco peregrinus Tunst.: Plate 3) is rarer than the
saker, not being found as a rule far from water on which its favourite
quarry depends: duck and sea birds. It is trapped on the Gulf littoral,
in Iraq, Iran and down the migration route which follows a wide
band, some 100 miles across, from Turkey to the Red Sea. Hence its
Arabic name, shalun bdl.iri. The peregrine is prized for its superlative
speed and mastery of flight which, coupled with its rarity value,
makes it the most expensive of the falconer’s birds. The passager*
shown in the photograph (Plate 1) was sold untrained for a sum of
more than £1000 sterling. However, the peregrine requires extremely
careful handling. Rough treatment will alienate it irretrievably and
inferior food send it into a decline from which it may not recover. It
is at its best in a high towering flight which gives it opportunity to
stoop:* the powered dive culminating in a blow at its quarry en
passant which is nearly always lethal. It is this stoop on which the
peregrine’s reputation is based, but which, because of the scarcity of
high-flying quarry in the desert and the difficulty in keeping the
peregrine in top condition, is so hard to achieve. So, while it is
rightly acknowledged by the bedouin as the supreme performer, it
does not generally displace the more versatile saker in their
affections.
3. The lanner* (falco biarmicus spp. Temm.: Plate 11) comes third in
size and quality. It lacks the speed of the peregrine and the power of
the saker. However, like the saker, when trained, it is placid and
tolerant of tent life. It flies well at stone curlew* and cream-coloured
coursers* when found.
4. The gyr falcon* (falco rusticolus spp. Linn.) is not, of course,
found in the Peninsula unless imported. A few have in recent years
been brought to Arabia where they have earned a wide reputation for
their colour and enormous size. Popularly colour is an important
criterion to the Arab falconer in judging hawks. The paler the saker
i the greater its worth. But there is no truth in the idea that hawks’
feathers become paler with increasing age. The gyr’s very delicate
health makes it an unsuitable bird for desert life and in practice they
are usually kept as show pieces for the short time they survive.

Trained goshawks* and sparrowhawks* are not normally used
among the bedouin of the Peninsula, contrary to the view expressed

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