More concerning the matter of Mediterranean-area small-avicide: a rather fascinating book recently found by me -- Levant – Recipes and Memories from the Middle East -- by Anissa Helou, a lady originally from Lebanon. Includes reminiscences of childhood stays with relatives on their farm in the Lebanese countryside, and pleasant eating experiences there – among those, the seasonal “roasted wild birds”.
I quote: “Towards the end of summer I would abandon the kitchen to accompany my uncles on their bird-shooting expeditions. I loved watching them in action; and I loved eating the little birds they caught even more. My uncles were excellent shots and by the end of the day we had dozens of the furry [??] little creatures, all strung together on a cord suspended from a wing mirror of the car to take back home. The birds that feed on figs, in particular, are considered a great delicacy, both in Lebanon and Syria. I would help to pluck and gut them, and once they were all prepared, my grandmother would season them with sea salt before threading them onto skewers. While we were getting the birds ready, my uncles lit a charcoal fire to grill them. As she grilled the birds, my grandmother pressed them every now and then between two layers of pita bread to soak up the fatty juices. My siblings and I always fought over who would get the juiciest pieces of bread to wrap around our little birds. And despite the fact that eating them is now seen as completely non-PC, they remain one of my favourite foods. My grandmother always served them with a plate of her homemade pickles.”
One feels inclined to applaud Ms. Helou’s honesty here, while deploring her un-Green position on the issue...