"Far in the Northern Land, By the wild Baltic's strand, I, with my childish hand, Tamed the gerfalcon; And, with my skates fast-bound, Skimmed the half-frozen Sound, That the poor whimpering hound Trembled to walk on.
"The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow"
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
But his chief pastime was to watch the flight Of a gerfalcon, soaring into sight, Beyond the trees that fringed the garden wall, Then downward stooping at some distant call; And as he gazed full often wondered he Who might the master of the falcon be, Until that happy morning, when he found Master and falcon in the cottage ground.
"The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow"
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The former skim forward upon it sideways-that is, in a horizontal or diagonal direction, and pick it up in passing; while the true falcons-as the merlin, the peregrine, the gerfalcon, and the great eagle-falcons-shoot down upon their prey perpendicularly like an arrow, or a piece of falling lead.
"Popular Adventure Tales"
Mayne Reid