Falconery. Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person involved in falconry: a falconer flies a falcon; an austringer flies a hawk or an eagle. In modern falconry, the red-tailed hawk, Harris's hawk, and the peregrine falcon are some of the more commonly used birds of prey. The practice of hunting with a conditioned falconry bird is also called hawking or gamehawking, although the words hawking and hawker have become used so much to refer to petty traveling traders, that the terms falconer and falconry now apply to most use of trained birds of prey to catch game. Many contemporary practitioners still use these words in their original meaning, however. In early English falconry literature, the word falcon referred to a female peregrine falcon only, while the word hawk or hawke referred to a female hawk. A male hawk or falcon was referred to as a tiercel, as it was roughly one-third less than the female in size. This traditional Arabian sport grew throughout Europe. Falconry is an icon of Emirati and Arab culture. Evidence suggests that the art of falconry may have begun in Mesopotamia, with the earliest accounts dating to around 2,000 BC. Also, some raptor representations are in the northern Altai, western Mongolia. The falcon was a symbolic bird of ancient Mongol tribes. Some disagreement exists about whether such early accounts document the practice of falconry or are misinterpreted depictions of humans with birds of prey. During the Turkic Period of Central Asia, concrete figures of falconers on horseback were described on the rocks in Kyrgyz. Falconry was probably introduced to Europe around AD 400, when the Huns and Alans invaded from the east. Frederick II of Hohenstaufen is generally acknowledged as the most significant wellspring of traditional falconry knowledge. He is believed to have obtained firsthand knowledge of Arabic falconry during wars in the region. He obtained a copy of Moamyn's manual on falconry and had it translated into Latin by Theodore of Antioch. Frederick II himself made corrections to the translation in 1241, resulting in De Scientia Venandi per Aves. King Frederick II is most recognized for his falconry treatise, De arte venandi cum avibus. Written himself toward the end of his life, it is widely accepted as the first comprehensive book of falconry, but also notable in its contributions to ornithology and zoology. De arte venandi cum avibus incorporated a diversity of scholarly traditions from east to west, and is one of the earliest challenges to Aristotle's explanations of nature. Historically, falconry was a popular sport and status symbol among the nobles of medieval Europe, and Asia. Many historical illustrations left in Rashid al Din's Compendium chronicles book described falconry of the middle centuries with Mongol images. Falconry was largely restricted to the noble classes due to the prerequisite commitment of time, money, and space. In art and other aspects of culture, such as literature, falconry remained a status symbol long after it was no longer popularly practiced. The historical significance of falconry within lower social classes may be underrepresented in the archaeological record, due to a lack of surviving evidence, especially from nonliterate nomadic and non agrarian societies. Within nomadic societies such as the Bedouin, falconry was not practiced for recreation by noblemen. Instead, falcons were trapped and hunted on small game during the winter to supplement a very limited diet. In the UK and parts of Europe, falconry probably reached its zenith in the 17th century, but soon faded, particularly in the late 18th and 19th centuries, as firearms became the tool of choice for hunting. Falconry in the UK had a resurgence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when a number of falconry books were published. This revival led to the introduction of falconry in North America in the early 20th century. Colonel R. Luff Meredith is recognized as the father of North American falconry. Throughout the 20th century, modern veterinary practices and the advent of radio telemetry increased the average lifespan of falconry birds, and allowed falconers to pursue quarry and styles of flight that had previously resulted in the loss of their hawk or falcon.