FALCON is called Shaheen in Persian, Uqab or Saqar in Arabic (صقر، عقاب، شاھیں)
Falcons are GYRFALCON (white falcon), Saker falcon and Peregrine falcon. Their wings are spanning up to 120 cm and capable of reaching speed over 320 kmph. They are named as the world’s fastest animal.
The first known reference to falconry in the Gulf states dates back to 750 BC. Arabs have passion for falconry. Falcons can sell for between $ 5000 to 250,000 and recent rumours suggest that a GYRFALCON was purchased for just under $ 1 million in Arab peninsula.
According to Mohammad Badiuzzaman, poet Mohammad Iqbal saw good qualities in the animal Shaheen and wrote to his friend that Shaheen has “self-respect (ghairat mand) and is self-satisfied (khuddar). They never eat prey hunted by others. They hover in the air before swooping on its prey. They fly high in the air and maintain their heights and have sharp eye-sight. They prefer to live alone or in seclusion and not make a home to live”.
Iqbal likened himself to shaheen in his poem Shaheen’s last couplet:
“Parindou ke dunya ka darwesh huin mai
Keh Shaheen banata nahee ashyana”
Iqbal mentioned about ‘shaheen’s eye’ in the poem ‘Madarsa’:
“Faiz-e-fitrat ne tujhe ‘didah’ shaheen bakhsha
Jin mein rakh dee hai gholami ne nigah-e-khaffash*
Iqbal also mentioned ‘shaheen kafoori (white falcon, which is rare) in one couplet:
“Faqeeran-e-haram ke haath Iqbal aa geya keyou kar
Moyassar Mir or Sultan ko nahee shaheen-e-kafoori”
*Nigah-e-khaffash means bats eye.
Gyrfalcon in picture.