[Sca-cooks] A bird bird bird- bird is the word!

[Terry Decker]

European Black Grouse (Tetrao tetrix) is spread all across Europe into the 
Caspian region with the exception of Spain.  Red grouse (Lagopus lagopus), 
ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus) and capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) are found in 
England and other parts of Europe.

I have identified (with some possibility of error) some wild birds that 
could probably have been purchased at market in late 16th Century Rome, 
courtesy of Carravagio's "Still Life with Birds" .  They are:

barn owl (Tylo alba)
short-eared owl (Asio flammeus)
pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)
mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
curlew (Numenius acquata)
kestrel (Falco tinnuculus)
song thrush (Turdus philomelos)
black bird (Turdus merula)
figpeckers (Sylvia hortensis)
great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopus major)
skylark (Alruda arvensis)
lapwing (Vanellus vanellus)
goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
European robin (Erithacus rubecula)
blue tit (Parus caeruleus)
bullfinch (Pyrrula pyrrula)

While there is no evidence one way or the other, some of these birds were 
definitely eaten in period and I suspect that all of them used as models 
were purchased from the market where they were being sold as fresh meat.

Bear

> Ok, silly song reference for today. But my question has to do with birds. 
> Are grouse native to Europe? Might you find one in, say Poitou, in say 
> 1154? What birds might be hunted there?
>
> 'Lainie