Eating songbirds

[Hank Trent]

How commonly were songbirds eaten in the 1860s and before? What would be the context (common, rare, upper/lower class, north/south, etc.)? How would they be cleaned and commonly prepared?

Here's the reason I'm now curious about the topic. I like historic food challenges and surprises during events, but this takes the cake.

Last Saturday, five of us were at an isolated log cabin in Tennessee during an immersion event, portraying low-class country folk. Nobody else was around for half a mile or more. Nearby, a hawk suddenly swooped down and grabbed a robin. The dog ran out barking from the cabin and the hawk took off, dropping the robin. Because the dog hadn't figured out the concept of retrieving yet, we went out to find the robin, and I saw it in the grass, freshly and neatly killed, with a talon mark in its breast and its neck broken from the fall.

So I'm standing there holding this dead robin, trying to figure out how I'd react to the situation in 1864. I remembered a Kentucky Housewife recipe for "red-bird," and guessed robins would be eaten too, all the while knowing of course that eating robins today is totally illegal, no matter how safe or moral it would be in this situation, since we knew the bird was healthy and freshly killed and its death had been natural and the hawk wouldn't come back for it with the dog around.

I suggested roasting it, and took it in and laid it on the table by the fireplace, waiting for the "owner" of the cabin (and event coordinator) to wake up from his nap and make the 21st century judgment call. Deep down inside, I knew we'd do the legal thing and not cook it up. Sure enough, later on, the robin just disappeared without comment, and I found out later he'd buried it.

But I wondered if I'd reacted typically, from a historic viewpoint. I know that the killing of songbirds for sport was starting to be looked down on by the mid-19th century, but we were rowdy country folk who weren't that enlightened yet. So far, I've only found one recipe for robins specifically, from Common Sense in the Household, 1872, p. 181:

"Split down the back, and broil over a clear fire. Butter, pepper, and salt when done, and let them lie between two hot dishes for five minutes before sending to table. Small snipe are nice broiled in this way; also robins and doves."

There are numerous period recipes for "small birds," but most start at the point of cooking and don't describe how to pluck/skin them. Also they generally seem to be for snipe, quail, reed birds, etc., rather than songbirds specifically.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Eating songbirds

Hank, I too have a ''reedbird" or Bob-o link recipe.

To Dress Reed Birds.

Pick open* and carefully wash one dozen or more birds. After they are splt open in the back and dressed, lay them in weak salt and water for a short time. Place them between the folds of a towel, and with a rolling-pin mash the bones quite flat. Season with salt and black pepper. Either fry or broil on a gridiron made for broiling osyters. This must be done over a clear fire. When done season, put a lump of butter on each bird and serve hot.

If you like, serve each bird on a piece of toast and pour over them a sauce of red wine, mushroom catsup, salt, cayenne pepper and c****y.

...Cook Robins Ortilans, Sora and other small birds the same way...

___ Mrs. A.M.D. and Mrs T. Housekeeping in Old Virginia.

*I would imagine this is simply splitting the breast with your thumbs like a dove or quail and peeling back to the tail.

[KathyBradford]

Re: Eating songbirds

From a letter written by GGG Uncle Absolom Kleckner, 21st OVI, Co. A December 20, 1862, Camp Hamilton, near Nashville.

"I tell you we have quite a time here catching robins. Two of our boys went out night before last and caught 35. I tell you, I made a good pot pie last night. 3 of our boys went out and caught 65. We also had another pot pie today. We bought 2 pounds of butter to season them with. We paid $1 for 2 pounds and it was strong as old cheese at that."

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Eating songbirds

Kathy, that's that Four and twenty blackbirds, baked in a pie thing.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Eating songbirds

Thank you, Kathy! That's a dandy quote.

I would imagine this is simply splitting the breast with your thumbs like a dove or quail and peeling back to the tail.

When somebody at the event commented on the difficulty of plucking, I said you just sort of skinned them, guessing at that. But it's interesting both your recipe and the one I quoted talk about splitting the back. Are they suggesting you start at the back, with the whole bird? Or talking about something you do after splitting the breast?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Vicksburg Dave]

Re: Eating songbirds

According to some friends of mine who have sampled them, prepare robins like dove; they taste the same.

[Michael Comer]

Re: Eating songbirds

I have never heard of it being illegal to kill or eat robins. It has always been something of a taboo - well, because they're robins you know - but I've never heard of any statutes against it. Do they fall under any migratory bird laws? Because around here they never leave and you can see them throughout the winter so they're not very migratory in this area.

They are a large breasted bird and I would agree that treating them like a dove, popping out the breast etc., would be a good way to prepare them

[Andy Ackeret]

Re: Eating songbirds

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/regs/SGHunt06.pdf

As I read this, according to the Department of Natural Resources of the state of Wisconsin, birds that are not specifically named in this phamplet are protected species, and "may not be hunted, trapped, or possessed without first obtaining appropriate DNR authorization." It specifically says song birds and black birds are protected species. Everything that can be hunted is listed.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Eating songbirds

Do they fall under any migratory bird laws?

It's my understanding they come under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act because they do migrate short distances in colder climates. When I lived in Massachusetts, the return of the first robin was a traditional sign of spring. The list of species covered by the MBTA at http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/in...a/mbtandx.html includes "Robin, American, Turdus migratorius"

Species covered by the MBTA can only be hunted if an exception is granted and they're on a list of game bird species, which robins aren't, so it's my understanding that it would be illegal for a state to allow robin hunting even if they so chose. According to http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/in...ta/gmebrd.html , which also includes a list of the potential game birds:

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which implements the conventions, grants the Secretary of the Interior the authority to establish hunting seasons for any of the migratory game bird species listed below. [The list doesn't include robins.] In actuality, the Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that hunting is appropriate only for those species for which there is a long tradition of hunting, and for which hunting is consistent with their population status and their long-term conservation

For the covered species, the MBTA prohibits the following:

pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, attempt to take, capture or kill, possess, offer for sale, sell, offer to purchase, purchase, deliver for shipment, ship, cause to be shipped, deliver for transportation, transport, cause to be transported, carry, or cause to be carried by any means whatever, receive for shipment, transportation or carriage, or export, at any time, or in any manner, any migratory bird, included in the terms of this Convention . . . for the protection of migratory birds . . . or any part, nest, or egg of any such bird." (16 U.S.C. 703) http://www.fws.gov/laws/laws_digest//migtrea.html

So strictly speaking, just picking up the robin (having it in my "possession") probably was illegal in itself, though I can't imagine the feds would require folks to let common dead birds lie smelling in their yards, rather than looking the other way while folks "possess" them long enough to move and bury them. I know you are allowed to possess a live but injured MBTA bird long enough to take it to a licensed rehabilitator.

At another event a few years back, I found a red-tailed hawk feather on the ground and wore it in my hat for a little while without thinking, until it hit me I was breaking federal law by just that simple apparently harmless act. Before I left the privacy of the event site, I managed to "lose" it.

The letter of the law is surprisingly strict when it comes to birds.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Sablearm]

Re: Eating songbirds

From Soldiering in the Army of Tennesee by Larry J. Daniel, the author writes:

"A large robin roost in a Cedarbrake near Shelbyville proved to be a tempting target for some men from the 24th Alabama. At night several privates including J.H. Puckett climbed a nearby tree. When all was ready men on the ground lit torches and thrashed wildly through the brakes. Puckett wrote that "It beats all. They came into the tree so fast and thick that they would [perch] in our faces, on our heads feet hands and sometimes you can catch them with your mouth...[we caught]...in all about 50." That night the men sat down to Robin stew."

George Hardy
Independent

[Vuhginyuh]

Re: Eating songbirds

...it's interesting both your recipe and the one I quoted talk about splitting the back. Are they suggesting you start at the back, with the whole bird? Or talking about something you do after splitting the breast?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

It looks like the recipes require skinning. It’s very easy but I can't describe how to do it. It has as much to do with feel as technique. Here is a link that may help and explain it a bit more delicately than me. http://www.hunter-ed.com/in/course/c...sing_birds.htm

Field and Stream’s website may have a good page on field dressing but I could not get it to open.

Also; http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/...ight=robin+pie It falls off topic with a resounding thud but there are some good references early.

[Jim Mayo]

Re: Eating songbirds

From the letters of John Beaton, Company G, 9th Va. Inf.

http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/j_mayo/9va/letters.html

"You would have laughed to have seen great grown men Saturday with their traps and dead falls catching birds. We were very successful, the mess I am in caught quite a number. We made a large pot pie which was very nice. "

I also served in the AF with a guy from Alabama who said his grandmother made a great Robin pie.

[KathyBradford]

Re: Eating songbirds

Absolom E. Kleckner, Tilden Kleckner, and John C. Leonard, all served in the 21st Ohio, Company A. Their travels and travails were described in letters to John’s sister, Elizabeth Leonard. During the course of the war, Absolom married Elizabeth. She saved thirty seven letters. Included in the collection is one letter from her that was apparently never mailed. They contain the names of family, friends, those with whom they served, and people in the news. It’s fascinating to read the different perspectives they had about the same events.

The letter before the one about robins talks about the food they had been eating, along with several other topics.


"Nashville, Tenn Dec 4th 1862

Dear Wife

I now sit down to answer your kind letter which came to hand the 2nd. It found me well and hearty and in good heart. I hope when these few lines come to your notice they will find you well and in good heart. Well, love, I want you to excuse me for not writing sooner. I know you will when I tell you the reason for not answering it sooner. I have a kind of barbershop and the boys kept me busy cutting hair and shaving. I made $1.25 cts to days besides my wages. I have made better than 12 dollars shaving and cutting hair in the last month. I want to make enough to keep me in spending money and send you all the money I get when we get paid off. We expect to get paid off tomorrow or day after.

I have not got much of my pay for barbering. I shave and trust till payday, but pay day is not far off so I will get it as soon as the boys get it. Well, dear one, I got that slide you sent me in that letter but it dont do me any good now for I have no watch at the present. I have had three since I have been there. I bought a locket for 7 dollars that was captured at Lavergne by one of our boys and traded it for a watch and sold the watch for 12 dollars and then I took a note and then traded the note for another watch and gave two dollars to boot and then sold the watch for 18 dollars. So I am out of a watch. Well, love, you wanted to know how near we came to starving. I tell you we had middling hard times for a week or two. All we had was a half loaf of bread a day and that was hard as a brick and so sour it was not fit to eat. We would not look at it. Now about every 4 days we get one mess of fresh beef and had no salt to eat on it, but those times did not last long. We were never so hearty since we have been in service as we were that time. We have plenty now, more than we can make use of. Now about the breast pin. There are some very nice pins here but they are very dear. If I can get one to suit me I will get it for you. I would have sent you that locket but you had my likeness in a locket and you would like a pin with my likeness the best. That cousin of mine which I spoke about, his name is Adam McClurg; he is in the 49th Regiment. He is discharged now; he left for home last Sunday. He lives at Forest or near there. He is agoing to your folks when he gets home and gets able. You wanted to know whether the boys wished me much joy when I got here; they did of course. They laughed at me for several days after I got there, but John never said a word about it. Now, love, I have plenty of stamps, also paper and envelopes. I have about 50 sheets of paper and about 40 envelopes, 16 stamps (3 cent ones) and 7 one cent stamps; that is enough to do till we are paid off. When I get out I will let you know if you are knitting socks to sell. I want you to send me 4 pair if you get a chance for the socks we draw here hant worth anything. I had lowed to buy my socks and how I would as soon pay you as anybody. Sam Pickett is here. He is hearty and well. Lew Diebley is acting lieutenant. Brice Hurling, Isaac Foreman is our commanding officers. Dwella Stoughton is our Major. I have to bring my few lines to close for this time. Excuse love, no more from your true husband."

[Mtn.Guerilla]

Re: Eating songbirds

I find the comments and recipes on eating songbirds very interesting. I have read accounts on this topic before, but I have to say I have customers who would simply have a heart attack reading these posts. I have a franchise here in Chattanooga called Wild Birds Unlimited and we specialize in anything to do with wild birds ( feeders, houses, baths, optics,yada, yada,) and deal with on a daliy basis the issue of federally protected birds, and have several rehabilitors I work with. All of you are correct about the laws protecting migartory and native birds. But at least here in Tenn. there are two birds that I regularly rent traps for and people dipose of them at will. These birds are the European Starling and the common House Sparrow ( actually a Weaver Finch) , neither one are protected by any sort of Federal Laws. Both were introduced in New York City in the 19th century, by Europeans.The House Sparrow around 1850 and the European Starling around 1890-91. Both are big competitors with Eastern Bluebirds for nest boxes and are mutually despised.I'm afraid it would take a boat load of sparrows to make a pot pie and although the Starlings aren't period correct, I have many customers would gladly donate them for a Blackbird Pie !
Take care & happy eating!

[Union Navy]

Re: Eating songbirds

All of you are correct about the laws protecting migartory and native birds. But at least here in Tenn. there are two birds that I regularly rent traps for and people dipose of them at will. These birds are the European Starling and the common House Sparrow ( actually a Weaver Finch) , neither one are protected by any sort of Federal Laws. Both were introduced in New York City in the 19th century, by Europeans.The House Sparrow around 1850 and the European Starling around 1890-91. Both are big competitors with Eastern Bluebirds for nest boxes and are mutually despised.I'm afraid it would take a boat load of sparrows to make a pot pie and although the Starlings aren't period correct, I have many customers would gladly donate them for a Blackbird Pie !
Take care & happy eating!

Non-native birds are not protected by law, and may be taken at any time (pheasants as a possible exception). House sparrows, starlings and pigeons all qualify, but may not be period correct (as stated above). Just be sure you can identify them accurately. Nearly all native birds are protected, either by season (such as waterfowl and doves) or at all times. I deal with conservation officers at work, and these folks generally draw the line very low and don't have much of a sense of humor about violations. I have seen artists at art fairs arrested or fined for having bird feathers in their artwork. If doesn't matter if you find the feather on the ground - possessing any part, egg or even nest (in some cases) is illegal without proper state and federal permits. Not that they're standing around every corner waiting for you. Just be aware of the risks. These birds are protected for good reasons.