noun
- short leather straps fastened around the legs of a hawk or falcon, used by falconers for control
Usage: falconry
Examples
- The falconer attached jesses to the hawk’s legs before the hunting expedition.
- Traditional jesses are made from soft leather to avoid injuring the bird.
- She checked that the jesses were secure before releasing the falcon.
- The medieval manuscript showed detailed illustrations of hawks wearing jesses.
- Modern falconers often use specially designed jesses with swivels.
- The bird’s jesses caught on a branch during flight training.