Falconry or hawking is the art or sport involving raptors (birds of prey) to hunt or pursue game. There are two traditional terms used to describe a person involved in falconry. Firstly, a Falconer, who flies a falcon. Secondly, an Austringer is one who flies a "true" hawk (accipiter). In modern falconry, buteos are now commonly used so a more loosely used term of falconer now applies to all people involved in falconry.

History

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Traditional views of falconry state that the art started in East Asia; however, archaeologists have found evidence of falconry in the Middle East dating back to the 1st century BC. Historically, falconry was a popular sport, and status symbol, among the nobles of both medieval Europe and feudal Japan, where it is called takagari. Eggs and chicks of birds of prey were quite rare and expensive, and since the process of raising and training a hawk or falcon takes a lot of time and money and space, it was more or less restricted to the noble classes. In Japan, there were even strict restrictions on who could hunt which sorts of animals, and where, based on one's ranking within the samurai class. In art, and in other aspects of culture, such as literature, falconry remained a status symbol long after the sport was no longer popularly practiced. Eagles and hawks displayed on the wall could represent the noble himself, metaphorically, as noble and fierce. Woodblock prints or paintings of falcons or falconry scenes could be bought by wealthy commoners, and displayed as the next best thing to partaking in the sport, again representing a certain degree of nobility.

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