Four and Twenty Blackbirds
May 2nd, 2008 by Marilyn
Other than the near-tornado we had last night (oh, Kansas) it’s been absolutely beautiful around here.
So pretty that when I walk to and from downtown, I’ve been playing nature photographer. When I first saw these birds with the flowering dogwoods and the blue sky, I was all Marlon Perkins and blah blah blah, I should be a birder, I’m hunting for antique bird books, the birds are lovely, I love the birds.
Then this little guy hopped by, and he made me think of Ernest Hemingway – and how as a starving writer in Paris, he’d stroll through the Luxembourg Gardens, pushing a baby carriage, and occasionally strangle a pigeon for dinner.
This one was so shiny, so beady – and he made me think of Ma Ingalls on the plains. Laura recalled that when the sky rained dead blackbirds, they had no chicken, so Ma put them in a pie.
So maybe I’m not the right person for wildlife photography.
But I chop carrots fast, and make a very flaky crust.
It’s a true cook who looks at the beauty of nature around her and goes, “Mmmm. Good eatin’.”
Love these pics. The white eyeliner of the robin, and the shiney shimmery feathers on the black bird. We love birds around here too.
That black bird is a grackle. If you go for the slightly smaller ones with yellow beaks instead? Those are starlings, an introduced/invasive species in North America, and thus not federally protected.
The drawback being, they’re smaller, so four-and-twenty would make a smaller pie.
Now, the mourning doves, they have a season, all regulated and such. But rock doves (a/k/a pigeons, a/k/a flying rats)? Also invasive. And bigger than mourning doves. So: bigger pie.
(And yes, I’m a sometime birder, wildlife artist, AND devourer of wild game. Eating them is just another form of anatomical study, yo.)
Mon dieu! Une artiste! (You’ve certainly got the eccentric part down pat.)
you’re morbid, i think that’s why we get along so well.
Golly – I think those pics are right purty! Speshally that last un. Thanks for the link love.
Karen – stellar bird facts! Josie and I are going to say “grackle” every chance we get now, like, could you pass me the grackle? It is really a delightful word. Thanks!
My SIL gave me a bird-feeder for Christmas, at which I rolled my eyes, but smiled while she and my brother hung it in my tree that very day. It went largely unnoticed by the feathered friends, until recently, when there was a feeding frenzy. I filled it again one morning, and by the end of day was nearly empty. I believe it was those piggly pigeons who gorged themselves, leaving none for the little guys. So I’m waiting until the pigeons find a new place to go, then I put something out for the little guys again.
Now, now, remember that you can’t just go around eating birds willy-nilly. Most are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and you’ll be in deep doodoo if you kill them. (Game birds are okay – in season and with a hunting license.) The three species that are fair game are House Sparrows (try them on toast!), European Starlings (make a pie!), and Rock Doves aka Domestic Pigeons (squab, anyone?) For more, you can read my post about catching and eating them, along with rats, snakes, and spiders.
(Thanks, Karen, for the heads up on the blackbird cravings goin’ on here!)
Hi Chile: I like the sound of Starling Pie – very romantic – but your post about roasted rodents required smelling salts. Thanks for stopping by!