While Rooks may have been eaten in the past, the rhyme in question wasn’t about Rooks. It was about LIVE birds (specifically named “Blackbirds” which are indeed the European or Common Blackbird, Turdus merula) which were placed in the pie ALIVE so that “when the pie was open the birds began to sing” (something you would be hard-pressed to hear a Rook do!!!) and fly away (something nestling Rooks would not be able to do either) to the amazement of the King. See the very nice Wikipedia entry on this subject at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sing_a_Song_of_Sixpence.
John J. Collins Raritan, NJ jjcb...@verizon.net "God desires that all the world be pure in his sight. The earth should not be injured. The earth should not be destroyed." (St. Hildegard of Bingen) "I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live." (Ps. 104:33) From: bounce-113352161-3714...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-113352161-3714...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Paul R Sweet Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 1:52 PM To: Anthony Collerton Cc: Rick & Linda Kedenburg; Larry Federman; Jonathan Perez; Richard; Lynne Hertzog; Cesar Castillo; NYSBIRDS-L; Jim Osterlund Subject: RE: [nysbirds-l] Crow Shoot scheduled in Greene County Thanks Anthony, I stand corrected. From: Anthony Collerton [mailto:icoller...@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 12:50 PM To: Paul R Sweet Cc: Rick & Linda Kedenburg; Larry Federman; Jonathan Perez; Richard; Lynne Hertzog; Cesar Castillo; NYSBIRDS-L; Jim Osterlund Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Crow Shoot scheduled in Greene County The "Blackbirds" mentioned would almost certainly have been Rooks (Corvus frugilegus) which were regularly eaten historically in Europe. Usually young birds taken from nests before they fledged. Adult crows probably aren't the tastiest of game birds, although I suppose technically edible. I doubt many will make it to the table in this case though. Sent from my iPhone On Mar 18, 2014, at 10:34 AM, Paul R Sweet <sw...@amnh.org> wrote: Point of information, the 4 and 20 blackbirds would be Turdus merula not crows. From: bounce-113350129-11471...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-113350129-11471...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Rick & Linda Kedenburg Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 10:07 AM To: Larry Federman Cc: Jonathan Perez; Richard; Lynne Hertzog; Cesar Castillo; NYSBIRDS-L; Jim Osterlund Subject: Re: [nysbirds-l] Crow Shoot scheduled in Greene County Dear Larry and others, I wrote to the club yesterday and received the following answer. (See Below) Judging from the way it's worded I don't think they care what any of us think. It's preposterous that they are "gathering" the crows to eat. Approaching our government representatives is a good way to go but perhaps some press coverage of this event my make them think twice. I don't know any journalists in that area that would take up the story. Anyone else have any contacts along these lines. Best Rick From: r...@hvc.rr.com Subject: Re: Crow Shoot Date: March 17, 2014 10:56:54 PM EDT To: rickkedenb...@optonline.net Rick, Thank you for your input. Your opinion of our event is expected. We applaud your respect for nature and the crow. The crow is meaningful. We believe in utilizing the animal for all its worth. It sounds as if you do not realize that crow can and has been consumed for centuries. I'm sure as anecdotal evidence you would recall "4 and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie". You may gather and eat different things, however that does not negatively define us as sportsmen. RVW Gun Club Sent from my iPhone On Mar 17, 2014, at 6:40 PM, Rick Kedenburg <rickkedenb...@optonline.net> wrote: Dear RVW Club. As a youth I was a duck and deer hunter on eastern LI. I know you have every right to conduct this shoot. It is perfectly legal for this to happen under the rules of the NYS-DEC. However I am still outraged by this. Crows are one of the most intelligent creatures we share the Earth with. They have been documented to fashion and use tools. They are highly social and live in family groups. My fascination with them led me to love and appreciate nature long ago. I hope you can understand that this will not be good for the reputation of your club or for any responsible hunters. Rick Kedenburg rickkedenb...@optonline.net On Mar 18, 2014, at 9:26 AM, Larry Federman wrote: Yes, this is a State issue. Our State Senator is Cecilia Tkaczyk and our Assembly member is Pete Lopez. Our US congressman is Chris Gibson. I will be reaching out to all of their offices. But, as we all know, ‘legally’ the club has a right to do this. And their Facebook page is still up - https://www.facebook.com/events/258725434301388/ Larry Federman President, Northern Catskills Audubon -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
