Japanese Falconry | Hacker News Reader

Japanese Falconry

bibliodyssey.blogspot.com

19 pointsPetiver10 comments

I don't know the history of falconry. It seems unlikely that such an esoteric activity would evolve in multiple locations; more likely that Japanese falconry and European (not to mention US) falconry evolved from some shared ancestor. So whose bright idea was it? Do we have a clue?

Hmm, well, Wikipedia suggests Mesopotamia, about 2000 BC.

Or maybe Iran, as early as 8,000 BC. Astonishing. Or maybe Mongolia?

Apparently the conquistadors noted the Aztecs using trained hawks, so some parallel development seems plausible.

One neat thing about modern falconry is that while the materials used (e.g., stainless steel for perches) are modern, the designs and techniques haven't changed much if at all.

Basic training technique really hasn't changed much, very true. There are new techniques (balloon and kite) for getting falcons to fly to a high point more quickly, and now drones are being experimented with. In the past 10-20 years we've also been using motors (drills, winches) to drag lures (a dummy prey-like item) to simulate a chase. These techniques don't have full acceptance, though; there's a lot of dispute about their value when it comes to actual hunting.

We did get rid of certain items deemed hazardous: the screen perch, which really requires constant supervision because raptors can hang from it and not be able to get back up, and single-piece jesses were replaced with a 2-part system where the jess part is removable. Should the bird get lost it can take the jesses out and not be hampered by them.

The main innovation is radio telemetry. Bells are still handy for immediate feedback of your bird's location, but telemetry is fantastic for falcons which can fly 20 miles away in a half hour if they feel like it, or hawks that will sit tight in a thicket on quarry and be completely invisible.

I had forgotten about balloons and kites, that is a good point. Only other thing I can think of in training that isn't traditional is using operant conditioning, but that was uncommon when I was still practicing.

I dunno, is operant conditioning just a formal term for what was always practised? The only negative conditioning is the lack of a reward?

(And what did you fly? A pleasant surprise to meet another falconer on HN. I flew Harrises and various accipiters. Lost my last bird in January to a wild peregrine and am considering a female sharpy for my next bird.)

They applied crushed mica to some of the illustrations, and the book description says it was particularly effective in pictures of the wings.

Also, I like the bear suit.

I think the "bear suit" is a traditional Japanese raincoat made of grass. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mino_%28straw_cape%29

Sweet. Thank you.

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