I have just finished reading “Falcon” by Helen Macdonald. It is full of all things falcon but with a distinctly anthropological bent. There is an introductory chapter on the natural history of the falcon but thereafter the concern is with the symbolically created meanings arising from human interaction with the falcons – primarily the Peregrine Falcon. Other chapters deal with “mythical falcons”, “trained falcons”, “threatened falcons”, “military falcons” and “urban falcons”. The author has an interesting take on the ups and downs of falcon populations and the human causes of such fluctuations and at each turn she teases out the semiotics nicely. Perhaps not so much a book about falcons as about humans.
Falcon (Animal) [Paperback], Helen Macdonald. Paperback: 208 pages. Publisher: Reaktion Books (9 Jan 2006). ISBN-10: 1861892381. ISBN-13: 978-1861892386