Page 126 - Arabian Studies (II)

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,