Eating Crow

crow

When I was a young fella in southern Ontario, we used to shoot a lot of crows. There was an old widow from some european country that was delighted to take all we would drop off. She ate them.

I hunted for many years with an Italian friend.He always caught or shot sparrows and starlings when we were hunting. He would pluck them, gut them , wash them in cold water. cut the beaks and feet off, but left the rest of the head. Then he would cook them in olive oil, seasonings, garlic and wine. While they were cooking we usually had a few glasses of wine. After an hour or so they were done.
First we ate the heads. Then all the rest, bones and all. The bones were very soft. The head .....was....crunchy.
MMMMmmmmm! delicioso!!!:D
 
In the highlands of Papua New Guinea, the natives live on a protein poor diet of taro, sweet potatoe and pandanus tree nuts.

The kids are forever knocking down small sparrow sized songbirds with rocks. They make a small fire and put the bird in feathers and all. Turn after a couple of minutes, let it cook another 3 minutes, then brush the charred feathers off and eat the whole thing, guts and all! Mmmmmmmm.

The first time I saw a bird of paradise in the field I stopped and pointed it out: "Oh look!" says I, "A bird of paradise!". The next thing I know a rock just misses it by 2".

I stopped pointing them out after that.
 
svt-40 said:
Knowing what they eat, I would not risk. They are on the diet of spoiled junk food and pest carcasses.

Its not that bad, alot of animals are scavengers, so were humans for a long time and look at us now. :p

I'd cook one up if I saw one and shot it. After all if I kill something while hunting I will eat it, I dont let good food go to waste :)

As for Sparrows I guess they are like Quail small and little but yummy, never had one though :(

Dimitri
 
Redfrog said:
When I was a young fella in southern Ontario, we used to shoot a lot of crows. There was an old widow from some european country that was delighted to take all we would drop off. She ate them.

I hunted for many years with an Italian friend.He always caught or shot sparrows and starlings when we were hunting. He would pluck them, gut them , wash them in cold water. cut the beaks and feet off, but left the rest of the head. Then he would cook them in olive oil, seasonings, garlic and wine. While they were cooking we usually had a few glasses of wine. After an hour or so they were done.
First we ate the heads. Then all the rest, bones and all. The bones were very soft. The head .....was....crunchy.
MMMMmmmmm! delicioso!!!:D

when i was a kid i asked my dad about eating crows and he said, "only italians eat those".
 
Ranger G said:
They taste a lot like Whooping Crane.:p

I prefer bald eagle myself. :)

As someone mentioned, bugs are supposed to be very nutritious in a survival situation. One trick I've heard is to cook them and then grind them into a powder. Makes it easier on the psyche.

I've never tried it though, and don't plan to if there's any other option available.
 
As far as crows being scavengers, what they eat would depend on where they live. City crows, like the ones eating garbage from my neighbor's trash bin as we speak, are eating rotten people food, old prescription drugs, and various poisons. The ones in the wilderness are eating carrion, lots of road kill, as well as other birds' eggs and any other easy meal.
The other, smaller forest birds, like robins, blackbirds, sparrows, etc, eat insects, grubs and worms.

I saw a show where they were doing a tour of China, way up in the mountains. They came across a market, where vendors were selling various cooked foods. They guy asks "What's that on the skewer?". Sparrow, the vendor says. The guy said it was tasty.
 
josquin said:
And we've all eaten owl, of course, so we know how ghastly THAT is! :p :p
(Or do you serve Owl with Cashews and Apricot demi-glaze in that fancy restaurant of yours?)

:) Stuart


This is where that famous recipe comes in:

  • soak a small piece of plywood in salt water for 2 hours (big enough to put your birds on).
  • Build a big fire and work it down to coals.
  • put the wet plywood on top of the coals, with your owl, crow, or sandhill crane on it.
  • cook for 2 hours slowly, and you're done!
  • throw the birds away and eat the plywood.
 
Many people in various european countries eat small birds such as sparrows, blackbirds, feral pigeons and the like. Just go to Italy or Spain and try to find any small songbirds flying around. As far as eating crow goes, well can't say I've ever tried them on the table but they are likely better tasting than half the ducks and geese mant people shoot!
 
sure you can call people who eat crow crazy, but id still rather eat a crow (far away from big cities) than the junk meat from a grocery store. lord knows what kinda crap they put in chickens and likely other animals these days.:rolleyes:

scavengers eh...if im not mistaken many people eat bear, raccoon, opossum, turtle, fish, and the list goes on;)

about the sparrows....the only reason i tried them was i met a couple greeks guys a few years ago when i was rabbit hunting and decided to hunt with them for a few hours. i heard a few shots so i go to checkout the rabbit. buddy had a handfull of sparrows:confused: could barely understand him but i figured out he was gonna eat them. the next day he came back with about 20 little pieces of meat and man was it ever great. sure you need to shoot alot of em for a meal but they are an invasive species so shoot em all:D

i dont quite understand how starlings are "dirty":confused: eating grubs and insects is dirty? guess im a dirty guy then lol:p :p :p
 
josquin said:
And we've all eaten owl, of course, so we know how ghastly THAT is! :p :p
(Or do you serve Owl with Cashews and Apricot demi-glaze in that fancy restaurant of yours?)

:) Stuart
I hope you don't mean that! I love Owls.. the whole house is owls...lol nope.. can't eat them.. just admire them
 
popcan said:
This is where that famous recipe comes in:
  • soak a small piece of plywood in salt water for 2 hours (big enough to put your birds on).
  • Build a big fire and work it down to coals.
  • put the wet plywood on top of the coals, with your owl, crow, or sandhill crane on it.
  • cook for 2 hours slowly, and you're done!
  • throw the birds away and eat the plywood.

Hahahaha, my GF would probably think it's steak, considering the way she likes it cooked.

I love it, going to bed with a smile :)
 
mommabear said:
I hope you don't mean that! I love Owls.. the whole house is owls...lol nope.. can't eat them.. just admire them

When I was younger and on the trapline, my Mentor and I used to eat Owl, sandhill crane, and whatever else we shot.
When you are back in the bush 50 miles and living off the land you lean to adapt.
great Greys have a lot of meat on them......
Cat
 
tootall said:
Mmmmmm..... s**thawk. Tasty....

Why are they protected? There should be a bounty on the filthy things
IIRC, Seagulls, Crows, Vultures, etc. are all protected as Scavengers. Apparently it's good that they clean everything up..... :confused: Who else would eat all the French Fries off the sidewalk? Anyway, I could be wrong. I'm sure those in the know will be quick to jump on this...
 
Wally said:
IIRC, Seagulls, Crows, Vultures, etc. are all protected as Scavengers. Apparently it's good that they clean everything up..... :confused: Who else would eat all the French Fries off the sidewalk? Anyway, I could be wrong. I'm sure those in the know will be quick to jump on this...

here in ontario u can shoot as many crows as you want
 
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