Part 12

Of all the European birds, the quail (_Coturnix vulgaris_) is the most remarkable, on account of the vast numbers which congregate on the shores of the Mediterranean in the spring, coming from Asia Minor and Northern Africa, to avoid the excessive heat. For a few weeks in the month of April, when they first begin to arrive in Sicily, everybody is a sportsman. Arriving always in the night, although not a quail could be seen the evening before, the report of guns the next morning, in all directions, attests their number and the havoc that has begun upon them. Such prodigious numbers have appeared on the western coasts of the kingdom of Naples, that a hundred thousand have been taken in a day, within the space of four or five miles.

The flesh of the turtle dove is considered much superior to that of the wild pigeon.

The passenger pigeon (_Columba migratoria_) of America, is a very large and well flavoured variety, being 16 inches long, and 24 inches in the spread of its wings; its hue chiefly slate-colour. They migrate at certain seasons in millions, and feed on acorns and fresh mast. They travel in the morning and evening, and repose about mid-day in the forests. Their passage, whether in spring or autumn, lasts from 15 to 20 days, after which they are met with in the centre of the United States. The Indians often watch the roosting places of these birds, and knocking them on the head in the night, bring them away by thousands. They preserve the oil or fat, which they use instead of butter. There was formerly scarcely any little Indian village in the interior, where a hundred gallons of this oil might not at any time be purchased.

These pigeons spread over the whole of North America, abounding round Hudson’s Bay, where they remain till December. They arrive in the fur countries in the latter end of May, and depart in October. They are met with as far south as the Gulf of Mexico, but do not extend their range westward of the Rocky Mountains. Stray passenger pigeons have been taken both in Norway and in Russia; and this bird has found a place in the British fauna, from a solitary bird having been shot in Westhall, Fifeshire, on the 31st December, 1825. Like other pigeons, this genus makes a slender platform nest of sticks and straws, but, unlike other pigeons, prolific as it is, it lays but one egg. The female builds the nest, the male bird fetches the materials. The time of incubation is 16 days, and the male relieves the female in sitting during that period. The immense number of these birds baffles all computation. Those eminent ornithologists, Wilson and Audubon, describe flocks seen by them to contain respectively from thousands of millions to upwards of a billion in each, the daily food required to sustain which would be at least 60,000 bushels; and the New York _Evening Post_ informs us that, on one day, seven tons of these pigeons were brought into the New York market by the Erie railroad.

In their breeding places, herds of hogs are fed on the young pigeons or ‘squabs,’ which are also melted down by the settlers, as a substitute for butter or lard. The felling a single tree often produces 200 squabs, nearly as large as the old ones, and almost one mass of fat. When the flocks of full grown pigeons enter a district, clap-nets and guns are in great requisition. Pennant, in his _Arctic Zoology_, says, Sir William Johnstone told him, that at one shot, he brought down with a blunderbuss above a hundred and twenty pigeons. Wagon loads of them are poured into the towns, and sold as cheap as a half-penny up to two-pence the dozen. The flesh tastes like the common wild blue pigeon, but is, if anything, better flavoured. Why (it has been asked) could not this large pigeon, whose migratory habits are principally caused by search for food, be introduced into this country as a tame variety, or by crossing with our native breeds enlarge the size; or, in the same way as fresh mutton was sent from Australia, be sent in casks potted in their own fat, to supply us with cheap pigeon pies? And the same with a cross with the large Texan rabbit, or the wild American turkey, the latter being far superior in size and appearance to its degenerate descendant, the tame turkey, sometimes as much as four feet in length, and five feet from wing to wing? The canvas-back ducks of America are there boasted of exceedingly as a delicacy, yet, although a great variety of useless water-fowl has been introduced merely as an ornament to the ponds and streams of our gentry, no attempt has been made to bring this kind to our farm-yards and tables; and even if it was found impossible to tame the pure breed, a cross with our own might be effected. In the capercailzie, or _cock of the wood_, a bird of the grouse species, but nearly as large as a turkey, once indigenous to Scotland, but now only found in the north of Europe, and in the _bustard_, the largest European land-bird, the cock weighing from 25 to 27 lbs., we have examples of two fowls well worth the trial of domesticating by the amateur or intelligent agriculturist, a trial which, if successful, would probably repay quite as well as competition about the colour of a feather, or the shortness of a tail, and in time would be the means of affording a constant, certain, and moderately-priced supply, which is never the case while animals remain in a wild or half-wild state.

Although the forests of New Zealand are not thickly inhabited by the feathered tribes, there are many birds to be met with. Among others are the following, which are excellent eating.--The wild pigeon, which is very large and common; the parrot or ka-ka; and the _tui_ or mocking bird, which is about the size of the English black-bird, and of the same colour, but with two bunches of white feathers under the neck--his notes are few, but very melodious, resembling the tinkling of small bells, which harmonize together as they are delivered. The bronze-winged pigeon of Australia is most delicate eating. It abounds in summer, when the acacia seeds are ripe.

GRALLATORES.

From the order of grallatores, waders or stilt-birds, we find many which yield choice dainties, whether it be the ostrich or emu for their eggs, the bustard and bittern, the flamingo for its tongue, the plover, dotterel, curlew, snipe, woodcock, rail, &c., for the table.

An ostrich egg is considered as equal in its contents to 24 of the domestic hen. When taken fresh from the nest, they are very palatable, and are wholesome, though somewhat heavy food. The best mode of cooking them is that practised by the Hottentots, who place one end of the egg in the hot ashes, and making a small orifice at the other, keep stirring the contents with a stick till they are sufficiently roasted; and thus, with a seasoning of salt and pepper, you have a very nice omelet. The nest sometimes contains as many as 24 eggs, and the difficulty the sportsman has is how to carry away his spoil. The usual plan is to denude himself of his upper or lower garments, and, tying up the orifices of leg-holes or arm-holes, to make an impromptu sack, in which he can bear away his prize. If he leaves them, he will be sure to find on his return that the ostrich has broken the eggs, because they have been disturbed.

The eggs of the emu of South America are large, and, although the food which they afford is coarse, it is not unpalatable.

The emu, or New Holland cassowary, is becoming rarer as settlements advance. The same remark applies also to the kangaroo and other animals against whom a war of extermination seems to have been declared.

The emu is easily domesticated when taken young, and becomes very familiar with, and attached to, the dogs, which generally leads to the death of a tame one. A full-grown one, when erect, stands seven feet high. The natives creep on them and spear them. The eggs are of a tea green colour, with a watered appearance on the surface. There is a singularity in the growth of the feathers--two of them spring from one quill. The bird is principally valued for its oil. The skin of a full-grown bird produces six or seven quarts of oil, clear, and of a beautiful bright yellow colour. The method of extracting or ‘trying’ out the oil is to pluck the feathers, cut the skin into pieces, and boil it; but the aborigines prefer the flesh with the skin upon it, regarding it as the Esquimaux do the flesh of whales and seals, as a highly luscious treat. The flesh is eaten by Europeans, and preferred by some to the kangaroo; the rump part is considered as delicate as fowl; the legs coarser, like beef, but still tender.

Bustards are plentiful in many parts of the Cape Colony, and the smaller sorts, called _koerhans_, are approachable in a bush country; but the larger kinds, called _paws_, are a great prize, as they are found on plains, and are generally shot with ball. In Australia, the bustard is called, colonially, the wild turkey. It is a fine large bird, frequently weighing 12 to 15 lbs., and extending full six feet, from tip to tip of the wings. There it is declared excellent for eating, but its flesh is much too gamey for ordinary palates.

Don Pernetty, in his _Historical Journal of the Voyage to the Falkland Islands_, under the command of M. de Bouganville, says, they found the bustard ‘exquisite either boiled, roasted, or fricasseed. It appeared from the account we kept that we ate 1,500. It is, indeed, hardly to be conceived that the ship’s company of our two frigates, consisting of a hundred and fifty men, all in perfect health and with good stomachs, should have found a quantity of these birds sufficient for their subsistence during a stay of more than two months, within a tract of country not exceeding three leagues.’

But they also tried other descriptions of feathered game. The wild ducks were found, in general, to have the taste of mussels. Of a kind of grey goose, weighing about 19 or 20 lbs., it is reported: ‘Its flesh was oily, had a disagreeable smell and a fenny taste; but it was eaten by the ships’ companies when no bustards were given them.’

The clucking hen of Jamaica (_Ardea scolopacea_), on the authority of Browne and Robinson, is looked upon as the best wild fowl in the country, although the latter writer tells us it feeds upon snakes, toads, and lizards, as well as wood snails and gully crabs. The flavour is, however, represented to be remarkably fine--a compound of ham, partridge, and pigeon. The flesh is of a peculiarly close and compact texture, and very tender.

The mangrove hen (_Rallus Virginianus_), indigenous to the watery marshes of Jamaica, greatly resembles the dappled grey variety of the common fowl. At the pullet age, the young birds are run down, when feeding on the mud, with great facility. At this time, I have found them to be delicious eating. Persons, on whose taste reliance may be placed, say that, though a plover be undoubtedly a fine bird for the table, and the sanderling a great delicacy, the young mangrove hen exceeds both, as it combines all their peculiarity of flavour with the fleshiness of the quail. This is no small commendation. But much depends upon your _cuisinier_; if he is a good _artiste_--a man of undoubted talents, it matters little what the materials be.

The _Rallus crex_ is another esteemed dainty of no ordinary kind, and a most delicious bird.

In the reign of Henry the Eighth, the bittern was held in great esteem at the tables of the great. Its flesh has much the flavour of hare, and is far from being unpleasant.

Snipe of all kinds, from the ‘teeterer,’ that hovers about the edge of the surf, to the jack snipe (_Scolopax gallinula_), half-brother to the woodcock, are in high esteem for the table. The ‘green’ sportsman finds these birds the most perplexing of all feathered game when on the wing. Their catter-cornered, worm-fence line of flight renders them very difficult to hit, until long practice has rendered the marksman’s eye familiar with their erratic movements. Some sportsmen take them at an angle; others after they have made their tack; and others, again, seem to blaze away at them without any particular aim, and yet always bring down their bird. The yellow-legged snipe is in America considered the best species for the table. They should be larded and roasted in bunches of three, and served in gravy made from their own unctuous drippings. There are few side-dishes more popular with epicures than snipe on toast. Some cooks stuff them with a composition of bread crumbs and egg, highly seasoned; but, in my opinion, they are far better without this kind of ‘trimmings.’

While the trail of the woodcock is a choice morsel with the English epicure, the inhabitants of the North of Europe, to whose forests the woodcocks retire in the summer, never eat the birds, esteeming their flesh unwholesome, from the circumstance of their having no crops. But they are particularly fond of the eggs, which the boors offer for sale in large quantities in the principal markets, and this contributes, possibly, to make the birds so scarce.

The semi-palmated snipe, better known by its common sobriquet of ‘pill-will-willet,’ the loud shrill note which it emits, is at certain periods of the year esteemed an excellent bird in America. It ought to be served up in the mode that snipes usually are, and for these delicious viands it is esteemed a tolerable substitute when in good order.

Dampier, nearly two centuries ago, speaking of the flamingo, says: ‘Their flesh is lean and black, but not ill-tasted. They have large tongues, and near the root of them a piece of fat, which is accounted a great dainty.’

The flamingo was much esteemed by the Romans at their sumptuous entertainments. Their flesh is thought tolerably good food, and the tongue was looked upon by the ancients as among the most delicate of all eatables. Pliny, Martial, and many other writers, speak of it in the highest terms of commendation. Many who have tried it, consider the flesh extremely rich, much like that of the wild duck, but with a strong fishy taste. The tongue is certainly delicate, but scarcely worthy the high encomiums bestowed on it by the ancients.

During the surveying expedition of Captain Owen, on the east coast of Africa, the sailors used to shoot hundreds of these beautiful birds for the purpose of making a dish of the tongues alone. The remainder of the bird--in imitation of the Roman epicures--being thrown away.

NATATORES.

The Natatores, or swimming birds, supply us with very choice food. Even many of the coarse sea fowl are not rejected by voyagers.

The Chinese shoot sea-gulls in large numbers, which add to their stock of food. A man is constantly engaged in the bay of San Francisco, California, shooting sea-gulls, which he sells to the Chinese at the rate of 25 cents each. The _San Francisco Evening News_ says,--‘This bird is a slow and steady mover, of large size, and flies at a convenient distance over the head of the sportsman. The man in the skiff was armed with a double-barrelled shot gun, both barrels of which he would load, and taking a dead gull would throw it high in the air and allow it to fall at some distance from the boat. This would naturally attract a flock of gulls, and as they made their slow circuit around the spot, the gunner raised his piece and generally succeeded in bringing down a bird for both barrels. He would then re-load as fast as possible, and if a gull was in range, another shot was fired and another trophy won.’

The flesh of sea-fowl is generally too rancid to find much favour with fastidious palates. Sailors indeed eat the livers and hearts of the penguins, which are exceedingly palatable, but the black flesh of the body is rank and oily, and has rather a perfumed taste. Some voyagers, however, tell us, that eaten in ragouts, they are good as that made from a hare.

The young puffins, having gorged themselves with sprats and crustacea, when pickled with spices, are by some considered dainties, and they are, occasionally, potted in the North. But when it has attained its ugly full developed bill, like a short, thick plough coulter, this bird does not look very prepossessing. Besides making use of them for food, some of the islanders use them for fire-wood. They split them open, dry them, and then burn them feathers and all.

There is a species of puffin, the _Puffinus urinatrix_ or _P. brevicaudis_, popularly termed the mutton-bird by Tasmanian colonists, which is met with on some of the New Zealand islands. It forms the principal food for the native inhabitants of Foveaux Straits, and by them is called the _titi_. It is a sea bird of black colour,[15] in its usual condition smaller than the common duck. Like all sea birds it has thin, slender legs, with webbed feet: the wings are long, with many joints, I forget how many: the bill is a little hooked at the point. They are generally in large flocks, covering the ocean as far as the eye can reach; sometimes flying all in the same direction, at other times crossing through each other like swarming bees. They breed on the small uninhabited islands scattered round the coasts of Stewart’s Island. These islands have a loose, dry, peatish soil, on a stony bottom. Their being exposed to the stormy winds, loaded with the salt spray of the sea, prevents the growth of a forest, except patches of stunted bushes intermixed with a sort of soft, light green fern. The loose soil is perforated with numberless birdholes, like a piece of worm-eaten wood, running from two to four feet underground in a horizontal direction, at the farthest end of which is the nest. Each female lays only one egg, which is nearly as big as a goose egg, on which they sit--it is believed male and female alternately--many weeks. The young bird is full grown in the month of April, which corresponds to October in Europe. At that time, almost all the inhabitants of Foveaux Straits, old and young--the infirm only excepted--repair to the Titi Islands, and take the young birds out of their nests, which amount to many thousands, and a great many still escape. They put a stick in the hole to feel where the bird is, which generally betrays itself by biting the stick. If the hole is so long that the bird cannot be reached by the hand, a hole is dug over it, the bird taken out and killed by breaking its head, and the broken hole covered with rubbish and earth, so that it may be used again the next year. Afterwards the birds are plucked, and, to clean the skin from the hairy down, it is moistened and held over the fire, when it is easily wiped quite clean. Then the neck, wings, and legs are cut off, the breast is opened, the entrails are taken out, and the body is laid flat, either to be salted or to be boiled in its own fat, and preserved in air-tight kelp bags. Though it cannot be said that the young birds suffer, they being killed so quickly, yet it might seem cruel to rob the parents of their young ones on so large a scale, and one would fancy a great deal of fluttering and screaming of the old ones, bewailing the bereavement of their offspring. But that is not the case. None of the old birds make their appearance in the day-time. They are all out at sea, and come only to their nests in the evening when it gets dark, and are off again at day-break. But yet it would seem the parents would be distressed at finding their nests robbed. Not so. It would seem as if Providence had ordered it so that man should go and take the young birds for his food without hurting the feelings of the parents. When the young birds are full grown, then they are neglected by their parents, in order to starve them to get thin, else they would never be able to fly for the heaviness of their fat. It seems that at the time when they are taken by men, they are already forsaken by the old birds; and those that are not taken are compelled by hunger, when they have been starved thin and light, to leave their holes and go to sea. The old birds are tough and lean, but the young ones, which are nearly twice as big, contain, when the legs, wings, neck, and entrails are taken off, three-fourths of pure white fat, and one-fourth of red meat and tender bones. The flavour is rather fishy, but, if once used to it, not bad at all, only rather too fat. They eat best when salted and smoked a little, and then boiled a short time, and afterwards eaten cold. If properly salted, they might make an article of trade, like herrings in Europe. The fat when clean is quite white, and looks just like goose fat, but the taste is rather oily; however, it may be used for a good many other purposes than for food. It burns very well on small shallow tin lamps, which get warmed by the light and melt the fat. The feathers are very soft, and would make excellent beds if they could be cured of the oily smell, which it is likely they can.

The following remarks on the articles of food found in the arctic regions are by one of the officers of the _Assistance_:--

‘To the feathered tribe we are chiefly indebted, and foremost in the list for flavour and delicacy of fibre stand the ptarmigan (_Lagopus mutus_) and the willow grouse (_Tetrao saliceti_). The flesh is dark-coloured, and has somewhat the flavour of the hare. These may be used in pie, stewed, boiled, or roast, at pleasure, and are easily shot. Next in gustatory joys, the small birds rank, a kind of snipe, and a curlew sandpiper; both are, however, rarely met with, and do not repay the trouble of procuring them.

‘The brent goose (_Anser torquatus_) is excellent eating, and its flesh is free from fishy taste. Then follow the little auk or rotge (_Alca alle_), the dovekey, or black guillemot (_Uria grylle_), the loon, or thick-billed guillemot (_Uria Brunnichii_). The first two are better baked with a crust, and the last makes, with spices and wine, a soup but little inferior to that of English hare. All these are found together in flocks, but the easiest method of obtaining them is either to shoot them at the cliffs where they breed, or as they fly to and fro from their feeding ground.

‘The ducks now come upon the table, and are placed in the following order by most Polar epicures. The long-tailed duck (_Fuliluga glacialis_), the king duck (_Anas spectabilis_), and the eider duck (_A. mollissima_). They require to be skinned before roasting or boiling, and are then eatable, but are always more or less fishy.

‘The divers are by some thought superior for the table to the ducks, but the difference is very slight. The red-throated diver was most frequently seen, but few were shot; and of the great northern divers (_Colymbus glacialis_) none were brought to table, two only having been seen. Some of the gulls were eaten, and pronounced equal to the other sea birds; they were the kittiwake, the tern, and the herring or silver gull.

‘The denizens of the sea have fallen little under our notice, and they may be dismissed with the remark, that curried narwhal’s skin can be tolerated, but not recommended. Some fresh-water fish were caught, and proved to be very good; they are said to be a kind of trout.’

The eggs of sea-fowl, although much eaten on the coasts, are seldom brought to market for consumption in our large English towns, and yet they form a considerable article of traffic in several parts of the world, and are procured in immense quantities about the lands near the North and South Poles.

The precipitous cliffs of England are occasionally searched for the eggs of the razor-billed auk, which are esteemed a delicacy, for salads especially.