page_title: Falconry
section_title: Falconry around the world
hierarchical_section_title: Falconry / Falconry around the world
caption_attribution_description: English: This 1965 photograph shows a huntsman with his falcon near Al-Ain, a desert oasis located approximately 160 kilometers east of the city of Abu Dhabi in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Falconry is both a sport and a means of hunting for food that developed over centuries in the Arab world and in other countries. Known as the “sport of shaykhs,” falconry was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. The photograph is from the Colonel Edward "Tug" Bearby Wilson Collection in the National Library, Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, and was taken by Wilson. Colonel Tug Wilson (1921–2009) was a British army officer who, in the 1960s, was seconded to the government of Abu Dhabi to help build the national defense force. He was a personal friend of the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Shaykh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1918–2004), with whom he shared interests in falconry and horseback riding.
context_page_description: Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small and larger animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an Austringer flies a hawk or an eagle. In modern falconry, the red-tailed hawk, the Harris's hawk, and the peregrine falcon are some of the more commonly used birds of prey. The practice of hunting with a conditioned falconry bird is also called hawking or gamehawking, although the words hawking and hawker have become used so much to refer to petty traveling traders, that the terms falconer and falconry now apply to most use of trained birds of prey to catch game. Many contemporary practitioners still use these words in their original meaning, however.
  In early English falconry literature, the word falcon referred to a female peregrine falcon only, while the word hawk or hawke referred to a female hawk. A male hawk or falcon was referred to as a tiercel as it was roughly one third less than the female in size.
context_section_description: Falconry is currently practiced in many countries around the world.  The falconer's traditional choice of bird is the northern goshawk and peregrine falcon. In contemporary falconry in both North America and the UK they remain popular, although the Harris hawk and red-tailed hawk are likely more widely used.  The northern goshawk and the golden eagle are more commonly used in Eastern Europe than elsewhere.  In the Middle East, the saker falcon is the most traditional species flown against the houbara bustard, sandgrouse, stone-curlew, other birds and hares. Peregrines and other captively bred imported falcons are also commonplace. Falconry remains an important part of the Arab heritage and culture.  The UAE reportedly spends over 27 million dollars annually towards the protection and conservation of wild falcons, and has set up several state-of-the-art falcon hospitals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital is the largest falcon hospital in the whole world.  There are two breeding farms in the Emirates, as well as those in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Every year, falcon beauty contests and demonstrations take place at the ADIHEX exhibition in Abu Dhabi.
  Sparrowhawks were formerly used to take a range of small birds, but are really too delicate for serious falconry and have fallen out of favour now that American species are available.
  In North America and the UK, falcons usually fly only after birds. Large falcons are typically trained to fly in the "waiting-on" style, where the falcon climbs and circles above the falconer and/or dog and the quarry is flushed when the falcon is in the desired commanding position. Classical game hawking in the UK saw a brace of peregrine falcons flown against the red grouse, or merlins in "ringing" flights after skylarks. Rooks and crows are classic game for the larger falcons, and the magpie, making up in cunning what it lacks in flying ability, is another common target. Short-wings can be flown in both open and wooded country against a variety of bird and small mammal prey.  Most hunting with large falcons requires large open tracts where the falcon is afforded opportunity to strike or seize its quarry before it reaches cover. Most of Europe practices similar styles of falconry, but with differing degrees of regulation.
  Medieval falconers often rode horses but this is now rare with the exception of contemporary Kazakh and Mongolian falconry. In Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia, the golden eagle is traditionally flown (often from horseback), hunting game as large as foxes and wolves.
  In Japan, the northern goshawk has been used for centuries.  Japan continues to honor its strong historical links with falconry (takagari) while adopting some modern techniques and technologies.
  In Australia, although falconry is not specifically illegal, it is illegal to keep any type of bird of prey in captivity without the appropriate permits. The only exemption is when the birds are kept for purposes of rehabilitation (for which a licence must still be held), and in such circumstances it may be possible for a competent falconer to teach a bird to hunt and kill wild quarry, as part of its regime of rehabilitation to good health and a fit state to be released into the wild.
  In New Zealand, falconry was formally legalised for one species only, the Swamp/Australasian harrier (Circus approximans) in 2011. This was only possible with over 25 years of effort from both Wingspan National Bird of Prey Center and The Raptor Association of New Zealand (RANZ). Falconry can only be practiced by people who have been issued a falconry permit by the Department of Conservation.  There are currently only four practicing falconers in New Zealand.
  Tangent aspects, such as bird abatement and raptor rehabilitation also employ falconry techniques to accomplish their goals.
caption: A Middle Eastern falconer[20]
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