All Birds Edible?

[commandocal]

I dont have my super dooper John lofty bible handy at the moment, but i have seen some birds in this local(ish) private woods near me and to be honest, look pretty plump and tasty, Now I know how to get the breast etc of it to eat etc but i cannot remember if it is true that all Birds are edible?

Thanks Guys

 

[wingstoo]

Depends how strong your stomach is, a lot of taste comes from what they eat...Badger anyone? that is the problem if you eat carrion.

LS

 

[Lurch]

Even my ferrets wouldn't eat crow!

 

[Toddy]

Crows and rooks make good pies, but the only meat really worth having are the breasts; I'm sure I came across a website that was dedicated to cooking corvids, I was looking for medieval recipes for them....... I'll have a look for the link.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Big Bad Stu]

A friend of mine was saying last week that they dread a dinner invite to one of their friends. He only eats meat he kills on the farm, this goes for anything he kills.

Last time they went they were served crow pie, as a joke he has put a beak sticking out of one end of the pie and a pair of feet at the other!

Good luck Commandocal, you're a braver man than me!

Stewey.

 

[Toddy]

I've just Googled, "Crows, recipes" looking for that link, and there are thoosands of them
I think we can safely say that, Lurch's ferrets apart, crows are edible.
tbh I reckon that if you only taking the choice bits, breast, heart and, maybe, liver of some birds and you're pretty sure they haven't been eating poisoned bait, then like eggs, birds are all edible......my dad did say that coots and moorhens weren't worth the bother since they tasted like mud. I knuw that some seabirds are traditionally buried for a few weeks to make them palatable, gugahs and the like.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[familne]

Remember all wild birds are protected by law

See: http://www.naturenet.net/law/birds.html#kill

 

[commandocal]

I know i dont plan on killing one for no reason, im just saying in a survival situation say? Its better to catch a bird and eat it than eat your oppo in a survival situation/ life and death

 

[Toddy]

Oh good link Familne......I didn't know that pigeons, gulls and crows were protected at all I kind of think of them as flying rats tbh.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Singeblister]

all things have their reason for being in nature , they have a purpose flying rats or not.

 

[Lurch]

I think we can safely say that, Lurch's ferrets apart, crows are edible.

They were just spoilt rotten ferrets I guess.

 

[Toddy]

One of my neighbours feeds his on pigeons, and I know he shoots magpies, don't know if he feeds them to the ferrets too though. They seem to be pretty omniverous beasties, saw them munching a salmon head once

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Matt Mallery]

All birds are edible, in that they are all safe to eat. Some do taste terrible though. I have shot and eaten coots and mergansers and there is no amount of BBQ sauce in the world that can make them tasty.

 

[British Red]

Pest species may still be shot Toddy - you just need a licence to do it (WLF18) to remain in force. This covers all the species you mentioned. The licence covers shooting for disease control, prevention of damage to crops etc.

The licence is general (you don't need a personal one) and issued annually. The practical upshot of this is authorised persons (landowners or their appointees) can use a defined method to kill the following species for the reasons listed

Canada Goose Branta canadensis
Crow Corvus corone
Dove, Collared Streptopelia decaocto
Gull, Great Black-backed Larus marinus
Gull, Lesser Black-backed Larus fuscus
Gull, Herring Larus argentatus
Jackdaw Corvus monedula
Jay Garrulus glandarius
Magpie Pica pica
Pigeon, Feral Columba livia
Rook Corvus frugilegus
Woodpigeon Columba palumbus

The act also confers the right for authorised persons to use weapons normally prohibited for use on birds (section 1 shotguns etc.)

A licence is in force for all of 2007

Red

 

[Longstrider]

Matts right about the coots. Yeuch ! Can't say I've ever tried merganser, but moorhen's no btter than coot.

When I was a kid my aunts Great Aunt (I just knew her as Auntie but knew she wasn't really) would eat just about anything made of meat if it was free. I can remember being at hers for tea one day and being amazed to find that both my aunt and I enjoyed the "Rook Pie" we had been given. My aunt commented on how good it was and was told "Well gel, iss like this. I were promised some rooks so I med the pastry ready, but the ******* never showed with 'em,so I 'ad to mek it with pudgeun instead. Still.. t'were Rook Pie recipe, jus' med with pudgeon !" You can't argue with that sort of logic !
Mind you, it was the same "auntie" that used to sit in her garden with a collander propped up on a stick witha bit of string tied to the stick. A few breadcrumbs under and around the collander would attract the sparrows.........
She's long, long gone now, bless her, but she'd have never minded to know I thought of her (in her own words) as a "right rum 'un"

 

[KAE1]

Iam rather confused,, I used to shoot lots of pigeons - over decoys and roost shooting - and never obtained a licence, likewise with magpies and crows. Are you sure a license is required?
Personally pigeon breast is a favourite, I only used the breast, only takes seconds to prepare and in my view is superior to pheasant and venison. I do like duck though.

 

[British Red]

KAE1,

Its a confusing term. YOU don't need one. In effect, a licence is granted to "any authorised person" to shoot the species I mentioned each year for the reasons of disease control, crop protection etc. Theres a smaller list that cn be shot to protect songbirds etc. Thats the short answer.

The long answer is the killing of wild birds is banned under the Wildlife and Countryside act 1981. It is still legal to kill game birds and poultry but only in an approved manner and only in the right season.

Game birds are pheasant, ptarmigan, partridge, grouse, moor game, black or heath game.

Poultry are domestic fowl, geese, ducks, guinea fowl, pigeons, quail and turkey.

There are other exemptions. Most notably Section 2 which permits certain birds to be shot at any time and others in season by "authorised persons" for legitimate reasons. This exemption is granted annually by Defra (and known as licenses which is confusing).

You are fine with pigeons and corvids provided you have permission and are shooting them for a legitimate reason - see here

http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-countryside/vertebrates/gen-licence.htm

Red