falconry as recreation in many parts of world hawking was introduced into E europe from the east in the twelfth century but its history h goes back much farther tha than n that in the old testament there is a mention of hunting bunting with trained birds homer aristotle and pliny all speak of the sport the chinese and japanese were passionately devoted to hunting with hawks and falconry is practiced in their countries as well as in india and in north africa by natives relates a correspondent in the new york times all medieval european aristocrat cies played with hooded birds of prey the sport persisted into modern times in hungary and in england and sporadically in various other continental countries falconry is probably the most highly formalized recreation in the world its methods and customs are by immemorial custom rigidly prescribed bed and it has a vernacular all its own how completely this old terminology is lost to the public is illustrated in the very name of the sport the average person is quite sure that a falcon is a species of bird while actually the word merely denotes the female of any of a number of breeds the female hawk is about one third larger and i ier than the male and is a superior hunter persons who may care to take up hawking must do some work on the venerable lexicon pertaining to it as well as learn how to handle and use the birds A falcon does not have wings for example they are sails and one must know what laggards hag gards and cadgers hadgers cad gers are as well as what it means when the hawk towers stoops pounces and bouks i