. Falconry, the sport of kings . TIERCEL GENTLE: A HIT ON GROUSE Scotland must receive the credit for perpetuating the Noble Art when it had languished over the restof western Europe, and no quarry is better suited to the capacities of the Peregrine, or Gentle Falcon,than the Scotch red grouse. But the gentle part is forgotten when the hawk makes its thunderbolt assault,diving on its victim from a height or pitch of hundreds of feet, usually killing it clean with a singleresounding blow of the half-closed fist. A good falcon will never seize or truss is quarry. The term tiercel (meaning the ma
. Falconry, the sport of kings . TIERCEL GENTLE: A HIT ON GROUSE Scotland must receive the credit for perpetuating the Noble Art when it had languished over the restof western Europe, and no quarry is better suited to the capacities of the Peregrine, or Gentle Falcon,than the Scotch red grouse. But the gentle part is forgotten when the hawk makes its thunderbolt assault,diving on its victim from a height or pitch of hundreds of feet, usually killing it clean with a singleresounding blow of the half-closed fist. A good falcon will never seize or truss is quarry. The term tiercel (meaning the male of various species of falcon) is derived from the Latin tertius, accord-ing to some because every third bird in the nest is supposed to be a male ; according to others because themale is supposed to be a third smaller than the female. Ill. GOSHAWKS: AN ADULT TIERCEL (MALE) AND A YOUNG FEMALEThese are the fiercest and most competent killers ot all, and therefore used principally by the yeomanryas meat getters. They are in red plumage for the first two years of their life, afterward becoming slaty-grayabove and barred below. Theyrequire carefulwatching in the niews(the buildings where the hawks are kept),lest they break loose, when they will go systematically about killing every other bird in the loft. They hunton or near the ground, and, unlike the falcon, come to earth with their quarry. .Among all hawks, the femaleis larger and nrore powerful than the male. IV
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectfalconry, bookyear192
