FLESH FOOD FURNISHED BY THE FEATHERED TRIBES. 135 



been tasted. The buzzard (Buteo vulgaris) used to be com- 

 monly eaten in France, and the Pern or honey-buzzard 

 was also there esteemed a delicacy. The Chinese and 

 Japanese eat the flesh of the kite and other birds of prey. 

 In the " Annals and Magazine of Natural History," for 

 July, 18-57, we read of the carrion kite of Northern 

 Australia {Milvus affinis), which is hardly distinguishable 

 from the common kite of India and China, that " these 

 birds are excellent eating, and certainly excel any othei* 

 game we have in flavour and tenderness." The kite 

 stands A 1 as a table delicacy in the estimation of Dr. 

 M. Elsey, surgeon to the North Australian expedition 

 under Gregory. True he states that they feed entirely 

 on grasshoppers; but what brought them in hundreds on 

 the trees round the camp 1 Why to pick up all sorts 

 of refuse undoubtedly that is edible by a carrion bird 

 in any shape. The flesh of the hawk, tribe is regarded 

 by us as totally unfit for food, yet one species is so 

 much in request in South Morocco, that the birds are 

 sent from Mogador as presents to the Sultan ; it is 

 a small bird resembling the sparrow-hawk. {Leared's 

 " Morocco.") 



Passer es.— In this order we do not find many which 

 contribute generally to human food. 



The beccafico {Sylvia hortensu), a bird about the size 

 of a linnet, is highly prized by the Italians for the deli- 

 cacy of its flesh, particularly in autumn, when it is in 

 excellent condition for the table. The Cypriots preserve 

 them for winter use partially boiled in Commanderia 

 wine. 



The guacharo (Steafornis earipensis) is much sought for 

 in certain caves in the West Indies and Central America 

 for the fat obtained by melting down the young birds. 

 The oil is semi-fluid, transparent, inodorous, and so pure 

 that it will keep above a year without turning rancid. 

 If eaten when taken from the nest these birds are pro- 

 nounced by epicures unrivalled, and their flesh is also 

 considered a delicacy when salted. 



Preserved larks have been shown in the Italian. section 



