The thing most people remark upon, who associate the word
“pigeon” with ratty urban denizens, is the sheer size of the wild bird. Then
the lustrous, subtle, consistent colouring – no mongrel patching, nor that
seemingly cut-and-paste use of colour for some imagined effect.
It was Mr Júlio, the Builder – a keen shot himself – who
first alerted me to them while construction was proceeding on the Hill. “Ah, Mr
Architect (Germans have nothing on us when it comes to the use of honorific
titles), there are days when one could just stand quietly underneath that
umbrella pine there, and shoot one’s limit in a couple of hours.” My own first
sight of one was when I once left some feed up on the Hill for my partridges –
of which more in a later post – and inadvertently came upon a “woodie” stuffing
his face on it. They are prodigious eaters (a friend once extracted a dozen
acorns from the crop of a single shot bird), as they must be to build up energy
for their daily travelling in search of food – the huge gatherings of tens of
thousands of birds which roost in concentrated sites in the Alentejo during the
winter are known to disperse during the day to feeding grounds as far away as
100 km and more.
And that brings us to the other thing people remark upon:
the way they fly. No pansy, sinchronized aerobatics here – just strong,
powerful, purposeful flight, straight and true, only occasionally broken by a
long glide down to investigate food sources left by thoughtful Fools on sunny
Hills. A marvellous bird.
And they make for excellent eating, too. Pluck and clean a brace
(reserving the hearts and livers), slice off the breasts and reserve. Put the
carcasses in a pot of boiling water with the hearts and livers, lower the heat, cover partially and leave to simmer for a couple of hours until the meat comes away easily from
the bones. Remove and discard the bones (and the skins, if you prefer). Throw a
handful of rice into the pot, season (salt, pepper, a bay leaf), and continue
to simmer till the rice is cooked (you can add some vegetables at this stage,
if you like – some sliced cabbage leaves and diced carrots). And there you have
your ideal comfort soup for a cold winter’s day. As for the breasts, fry them
lightly in butter and serve on toast as a simple, healthy (lean meat, no hormones) appetizer.
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