Chapter 31
The girl stroked Sassy’s hooded head. She kept asking questions, although it was already late afternoon and the final flight demonstration had ended.
‘What’s the lure for?’
‘It brings the falcon back. I feed her from it each day.’ Matt let the girl hold the lure. ‘See? It’s made of leather, filled with rice, and a pair of pigeon wings attached.’
‘Real pigeon wings? Wow. What does stoop mean? You said Sassy was learning to stoop.’
‘That’s falconry language. It means to dive down on prey with closed wings. When she circles overhead she “waits on”. When she catches birds in mid-air she “carries”. When she climbs high above her prey, she “towers”.’
The girl stood on her toes. ‘What’s the hood for?’
‘To keep her calm. Without it, she might become scared by the strange people,
