Not all that long ago, most birds were regarded as items of food for humans. I was reminded of this when a friend wrote to me sharing writings from an ancestor, who was a naturalist and a Civil War combatant. I recommended to her an old book, "The Market Assistant," published in 1867; it offered advice on the food qualities of a large spectrum of animals, including wild birds. Its descriptions of birds as food begin with poultry and domesticated birds on p. 132ff, but get interesting on "Game Birds," on pp. 145-180, which describe many wild birds then legal to kill for food. Needless to say, the number of "game bird" species has diminished since then. Game at his time involved waterfowl of course, but also shorebirds and rails (some of which remain legal to eat today), herons, passenger pigeons [long treatment of this one], robins, woodpeckers, orioles, larks, blackbirds, kingfishers, jays, nighthawks, cuckoos, etc., etc. He includes a list on pp 179-180 of birds which--while still perfectly legal to kill for food--were difficult to find and kill, or once prepared for the table, to eat. His book comes from a time when many wild bird species were regarded as common enough to sell for the table. Those days are mostly gone, but his book remains as a reminder of...well, a lot of things. Worth a read. Bill Whan Columbus It might be easier to search "De Voe The Market Assistant," but the URL is https://books.google.com/books?id=2z4EAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA464&lpg=PA464&dq=De+Voe,+the+Market+Asistant&source=bl&ots=KleThbncq-&sig=8ZZ4x7nz3LfOXpAv6as80oqE1dY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=mNQnVeyjMoqCsAXjiICgDw&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=De%20Voe%2C%20the%20Market%20Asistant&f=false ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]