FALCONRY MANUSCRIPT -- [(?) LOPEZ DE AYALA, Pedro]. Libro de cetreria de halcones. Manuscript treatise in 18 chapters, 17th-century, 63 leaves, 8° (194 x 140mm) (the text faded in places, occasional staining to margins); near contemporary calf, covers with gilt single fillet frames enclosing gilt arms (rebacked to style). Provenance: the arms of Castile y Leon on the binding; in the library of Joaquin María Abaurre, a noted Sevillian collector of books on hunting, 1926 (bookplate). Beginning with a discussion of the plumage of gyrfalcons, and how to distinguish them, the author then lists how different types of falcon must be kept, fed and cared for, as well as describing the processes around their training and use -- including the intricacies of fitting their hoods -- and adds some information on the keeping of nightingales.