Page 126 - Arabian Studies (II)
P. 126

118                                               Arabian Studies II

                        and with its bundle of feathers will appear to be carrying a kill. The
                        wild hawk will attack intending to rob the tame hawk of its kill and
                        will be ensnared in the nooses. Needless to say, only those birds
                        considered too small for hunting are used as the decoy*.
                           Though it is accepted that performance is the only sensible
                         touchstone of a good hawk, there will be much debate and argument
                         among the trappers about the comparative merits of the newly
                         trapped birds. The following are the points which as often as not are
                         the hallmarks of a good performer: a strong, defiant appearance will
                         often indicate a hawk which was in good health before taking the
                         pigeon, and not diseased or weak and therefore especially looking for
                         an easy meal. Birds which are defiant in the early stages may well
                         turn out to be courageous and dashing in hunting later on. Broad
                         glossy feathers are the sign of a bird which fed itself well during the
                         moult* or was well fed in the nest if it is a passager, and therefore
                         less likely to be prone to disease. A wide backed, wide chested bird
                         has obviously done a deal of hard flying and will probably be of an
                         energetic and aggressive disposition. Short wing feathers are a sign of
                         speed and long toes well splayed out, of a hawk with a fast and sure
                         grip. Colour is also considered important by the bedouin who always
                         prefer as pale a bird as possible. In order to be called hutr, the saker
                         must be kamil, which means that it must measure from head to tail
                         the length of a man’s arm from finger tip to elbow. Male hawks
                         always being smaller than their sisters — by approximately a
                         third — means that the him is always a fair sized female, a fact not
                         readily accepted by the bedouin. The terms for hawks of different
                         sizes and ages are to be found in the glossary below. Passagers are
                         preferred to haggards* as the latter have often had unpleasant
                         encounters with the quarry for which the falconer intends it and will
                         not then fly at houbara or hare. The passager in contrast, as the
                         bedouin say, has the hot blood of youth and will take on almost
                         anything, and yet has enough flying experience to give good sport.



                         The Training of Hawks

                         Success in the taming and training of hawks and falcons depends on
                         the falconer’s skill in maintaining the bird in condition. By careful
                         control of the hawk’s condition, the falconer can induce the hawk to
                         trade its natural fear of man for rewards of food as it responds to
                         training. This does not, however, mean that the hawk is starved into
                         submission. Rather, a fine balance must be achieved between
  ■                      allowing the hawk to become indifferent to its trainer through being
  ' •
                         too high and, on the other hand, indifferent through being too low,
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