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Traditional & Cultural Sports🇲🇳Mongoliaancient

Falconry

Officially Falconry (Hawking / Ancient Sport of Kings)

ANCIENT SPORT + HUNTING PARTNERSHIP between human 'FALCONER' + TRAINED BIRD OF PREY (falcon, hawk, eagle, or owl) to hunt WILD QUARRY (grouse, pheasant, rabbit, duck). Practiced 4000+ YEARS across Central Asia, Middle East + medieval Europe as 'sport of kings'. UNESCO CULTURAL HERITAGE (2010 + expanded 2016) — recognized in 24+ countries. Modern competitive DISCIPLINES include SKY TRIALS + FLIGHT SPEED. Extremely popular in UAE, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, UK, USA. IAF (International Association for Falconry) governs sport globally.

📐Open countryside, desert, grouse moor, marshland — varies by quarry⏱~240 min🌤outdoor

Quick facts

Category

Traditional & Cultural Sports

Type

Individual

Players

1–4

Duration

~240 min

Where played

outdoor

Field / court

Open countryside, desert, grouse moor, marshland — varies by quarry

Country of origin

🇲🇳 Mongolia

Estimated origin

Documented in Mongolia + China 2000 BCE (Bronze Age steppe hunters); Middle East Assyrian reliefs 700 BCE; medieval European nobility 8th c. CE+; became 'Sport of Kings' 1200-1600 CE; UNESCO cultural heritage 2010 (11 countries) + expanded 2016 to 18 countries + 2021 to 24 countries.

Olympic

No

Popularity

regional

How it works

Objective

TRAIN + FLY bird to hunt QUARRY (traditional) OR score highest in COMPETITIVE FLIGHT TRIALS.

Rules

Basic rules

  • TRADITIONAL HUNTING: falconer walks with bird PERCHED ON GLOVE (or bird 'waits on' — circles overhead); when QUARRY flushed, bird PURSUES + kills or captures; falconer recovers + rewards bird

    Signature hunting-partnership format.

  • SKY TRIALS (competitive): bird released to circle overhead ('waiting on') — judged on ALTITUDE + FLIGHT-DURATION + WING-STROKE efficiency + engagement with pigeon-lure

    Signature Sky Trials competitive event.

  • FLIGHT SPEED trials (UAE, Kazakhstan): bird chases mechanized ARABIAN BUSTARD lure at high speed; judged on chase-speed + strike accuracy

    Signature UAE flight-speed trials.

  • TRAINING: 6-12 MONTHS of imprinting + hood-training + weight-management + luring + release-training before first hunt

    Signature 6-12 month training regimen.

  • CULTURAL HERITAGE: UNESCO ICH 2010+ recognizes falconry as 'living heritage' in 24+ countries

    Signature UNESCO recognition.

  • MONGOLIAN GOLDEN EAGLE FESTIVAL (Bayan-Ölgii, Sept-Oct annual): 100+ Kazakh eagle hunters compete in traditional attire; iconic UNESCO-recognized cultural event

    Signature Mongolian Eagle Festival.

  • SAFETY + CONSERVATION: birds must be CAPTIVE-BRED (or licensed wild-taken); jurisdictions require FALCONRY LICENSE + APPRENTICE-JOURNEYMAN-MASTER progression

    Signature licensing + apprentice system.

  • MODERN SUPPORT: many falconers now do PEST CONTROL (airports, vineyards, warehouses) — falcons scare gulls, pigeons for hire

    Signature commercial pest-control application.

Scoring

Traditional: successful hunt = success (no formal scoring); competitive Sky Trials + Flight Speed: judges 0-100 on altitude + duration + engagement + speed.

Win condition · Highest judged score (competitive); successful quarry take (traditional).

Playing area

Called

Open countryside, desert, grouse moor, marshland — varies by quarry

Dimensions

Varies by hunt; competitive Sky Trials: 400-500 m sky course

Equipment

  • BIRD OF PREY: FALCON (Peregrine Falcon flagship — 240+ mph dive, world's fastest animal; also Gyrfalcon, Saker, Merlin); HAWK (Harris's Hawk, Red-Tailed, Cooper's); EAGLE (Golden Eagle — Mongolian; Steppe Eagle); OWL (Eurasian Eagle-Owl)

    Signature bird of prey.

  • GLOVE (leather, thick, ~30 cm arm-length for large birds)

    Signature falconer's glove.

  • JESSES + LEASH (leg-straps + tether during handling)

    Signature jesses + leash.

  • HOOD (leather cap that covers bird's head to keep calm)

    Signature falconer's hood.

  • LURE (weighted feathered swing on rope — training + recall)

    Signature falconer's lure.

  • TELEMETRY (radio + GPS transmitters on bird's leg — critical for lost-bird recovery)

    Signature GPS telemetry.

  • PERCH + MEWS (bird's outdoor shelter enclosure)

    Signature mews shelter.

  • FRESH-KILLED QUAIL/PIGEON (food reward)

    Standard food reward.

Terminology

Falconer
Human handler of falcons (or hawks — technically 'austringer' for goshawks).
Jesses
Leather straps around bird's legs for handling.
Hood
Leather cap covering bird's head to keep it calm.
Waiting on
Bird circling high overhead awaiting quarry flush.
Stoop
Peregrine's high-speed dive attack (240+ mph).
Mews
Bird's outdoor housing enclosure.
Berkutchi
Traditional Kazakh Golden Eagle hunter (Mongolia + Kazakhstan).
Houbara
Bustard bird — traditional Middle Eastern falconry quarry.
IAF
International Association for Falconry — main governing body.

Major competitions

  • IAF World Falconry Festival

    quadrennial · Global (rotating: UAE 2011 + 2019, Al Ain 2011, Fauzan 2019) · since 2011

  • Golden Eagle Festival (Bayan-Ölgii Mongolia)

    annual (Sept-Oct) · Mongolia (Kazakh eagle hunters) · since 1999

  • President's Cup of Falconry (UAE)

    annual · UAE (Al Dhafra) · since 2004

  • NAFA Annual Meet + Field Trials (USA)

    annual · USA (rotating states) · since 1961

Where it is played

Governing bodies

  • IAF — International Association for Falconry + Conservation of Birds of Prey

    Founded 1968 · Various rotating (Andorra registered)

  • North American Falconers Association (NAFA)

    Founded 1961 · USA

  • UAE Falconers' Club

    Founded 2001 · Abu Dhabi, UAE

  • British Falconers Club (BFC)

    Founded 1927 · United Kingdom

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

  • Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (AE, late founding president, prominent falconer)
  • Aisholpan Nurgaiv (KZ/MN, first female eagle-huntress featured in 'The Eagle Huntress' 2016 documentary)
  • Steve Layman (US, Master Falconer, IAF board)
  • Frederick II of Hohenstaufen (medieval — wrote 'De arte venandi cum avibus' — earliest falconry text 1240s)

Sources & provenance

Last verified 2026-08-28.verified