I do not know if any of these birds of prey are actually Maltese falcons, or even falcons at all. What I have learned though is that Malta was renowned for best-of-breed peregrine falcons, and was, until the mid 20th century, still a place where they nested, albeit in meagre numbers, on Gozo’s Ta’ Cenc cliffs. Unfortunately,, instead of being prized as hunting birds, they themselves became hunted to near oblivion. The last resident pair was shot in 1980.
The birds’ reknown is also confirmed when Malta and its archipelago together with Tripoli were given to the Order of Saint John by Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1530. The only condition was that the Order had to pay an annual tribute to the Emperor of one falcon payable on All Saints Day.
The Maltese Falcon is also the name of a film produced by Warner Bros in 1941 on a novel of the same name by D Hammett. It was directed by John Huston and had Humphrey Bogart as its prime actor. The film has been named as one of the greatest films of all time by Roger Ebert and Entertainment Weekly. It was nominated for three Academy Awards. The name of the film also gives credit to the preying abilities of the Maltese falcon even though the story is a detective story and has nothing to do with falconry.
Thank you very much for looking and for your lovely comments on yesterday’s picture. This brings me to the end of this series which I hope you enjoyed.
Beautiful shots of the beautiful birds. I think the Maltese Falcon film is about a gold statue of a falcon? I remember watching it some time ago and wondering if any real birds - or anything from Malta - would appear!
Remember that movie well.
BTW I love the movie, good old Humphrey Bogart