wild life (7) – the woodpigeon

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.