"In the following pages, I will provide a brief history of falconry and profiles of some of the most popular birds used in the sport. This will be followed by a breakdown of the basic steps to becoming an apprentice falconer, a consideration of the equipment needed to get involved in the sport, and an overview of healthcare and husbandry for captive raptors...My goal here is to provide you with a comprehensive introduction to the sport. This book may best serve those with an existing interest in falconry who have not yet committed to the lifestyle. Yes, lifestyle. Falconry, although called a sport, is not a hobby, nor is it a pastime. If you choose to become a falconer, your life will change. Of falconry, the American ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson said, 'Man has emerged from the shadows of antiquity with a Peregrine on his wrist. Its dispassionate brown eyes, more than those of any other bird, have been witness to the struggle for civilization, from the squalid tents on the steppes of Asia thousands of years ago to the marble halls of European kings in the 17th century.' By making the decision to become a part of that legacy, you will be committing yourself to spending hours in the company of a magnificent bird of prey, and you will be accepting full responsibility for its welfare and use as a hunting animal. This is an enormously rewarding decision, but one that should not be made lightly." --Foreword, pages 3-4.