Note 509 — Chapter XXXIV · EYESS SAKER AND GAZELLE[491]

Chalqūz or chalg͟hūz; excrement of birds only. “Mutes,” the technical term for the droppings of hawks. When the hubara is feeding on certain juicy crops, its excrement is thin and glutinous and has an offensive odour. Though the excrement is ejected through fear, it is a very effective weapon. A hawk that is smeared, is unable to fly properly, possibly because the wind strikes cold through the damp feathers. Some of the best hubara hawks, peregrines and sakers, always bind to the wing, and so escape being buffeted or befouled.