Click the picture below for a larger version of this magnificent bird in flight.

• In early falconry, a man no longer young enough to fly his own bird wound up toting the wooden frame on which live hawks were carried. It was called a "cadge," pronounced "codge." That's where we got the expression "old codger."
• In the language of the falconers, any "falcon" is female. The male is a "tiercel," a word having the same origins as the word "three." The bird is said by some to have been so called because it was one-third smaller than the female. Others contend that it got this name because a third egg in a nest was believed to be smaller and to produce a male.
• A falcon sees less with both eyes focused together than with either eye focused alone.
• The first animal to be listed as an endangered species was the Peregrine falcon. In fact, it's still on the list.
• The only bird of prey that sings is the South African Chanting Goshawk.