Falconry in Georgia

Falconry has a long tradition in Georgia and is still common, particularly from August to November during the quail hunting season. Tour operators in Tbilisi say that hunters, with adept falcons, can catch quails, ducks, rabbits and partridges. A professional falconer accompanies the tour manager and they provide hunters (tourists) with the equipment as well as the falcons and hunter dogs.

Falcons have an average wing span between 65-160 centimetres long (25-63 inches) that enable them to fly high, fast and change direction quickly. Adult falcons have thin wings that become narrower and narrower until they reach a point. Peregrine falcons are the fastest flying bird on Earth and have been recorded at 320 kilometres per hour (200 miles per hour) when they are diving to catch their prey. Their average speed is 40-55 kilometres per hour (25-34 miles per hour). Falcons have big chests so that they can lift their large wings.

Falcons are raptors and birds of prey. They feed on reptiles (lizards and snakes), amphibians (frogs and toads), birds’ eggs, small mammals, rabbits, mice, bats, pigeons, ducks and quail. They chase their prey and catch it in mid air. They have a notch on their beaks to break the neck of their prey.

Falcons live to about 20 years in the wild. They mate for life and have about 2-5 eggs per season. When fledglings are young, they have long flight feathers (longer than adults) and they look like most other birds instead of falcons. The longer feathers make it easier for them to learn how to fly. After about a year, the baby, down feathers fall out and adult feathers grow. When they have their adult feathers, they look just like their parents.

MARTINA NICOLLSis an international aid and development consultant, and the authorof:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom(2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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