BIRDMAN Derek Canning made legal history yesterday when he became the first man in Britain to be jailed for stealing and selling rare birds of prey. Genetic fingerprinting techniques were used to put the illegal trader behind bars in a case brought under European law by Northumbria Police. Canning, 33, of The Broomhaugh, Riding Mill, Northumberland, was sentenced to 18 months for keeping and selling 22 peregrine falcons, worth around £700 each. Newcastle Crown Court was told he had maps pinpointing the positions of at least 10 peregrine eyries in Northumberland, Cumbria and southern Scotland.