A footnote on megapode edibility..
Geoffrey is correct as regards areas (ie parts of New Britain) with
huge communal egg-laying grounds where the eggs are the main target
of humans (30,000 eggs taken in a season!), and the birds can be
protected. However elsewhere as large sized birds weighing 0.5-1.5
kg, some megapodes are (or were) widely hunted for their meat in
New Guinea (as well as Groote Eylandt in Australia - in the past)
.
There is however one oddity - Jared
Diamond records that the flesh of Megapodius freycinet and
Talegalla
jobiensis putrefies rapidly after death,
developing a repugnant stench. He notes a Solomon Island
tradition of the need for very rapid cooking....
Robin.
.
On 29/12/2012 6:25 PM, Geoffrey Dabb
wrote:
Good
to eat, Peter? The Romans regarded them as a delicacy, and
a status symbol, and served them with their own feathers.
As to megapodes, I believe they are generally not eaten, but
left to produce their large eggs, which are valued as a food
item. At Rabaul they take the eggs from nests in warm sand
at the base of volcanoes on the outskirts of that
picturesque town. Emi nambawan kaikai
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/a76d8/
Are
they good to eat? I mean the peafowl. If they are and the
word got around the population may dwindle away before
they become too much of a nuisance.
-----
Original Message -----
Sent:
Friday, December 28, 2012 6:39 PM
Subject:
FW: [canberrabirds] article in The Australian about
Orange-footed Scrubfowl
Furthermore,
a ‘swap’ is unlikely to be feasible. The scrubfowl is a
stay-at-home. According to ‘Introduced Birds of the
World’, now somewhat dated, there have been no successful
(or even unsuccessful) introductions of the scrubfowl.
Peafowl have been introduced in various places, including
in California – at Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills,
and Portuguese Bend. You would hear them in old Tarzan
movies, had those not been made on the other side of the
USA - at Morgan Island, Louisiana, haunt of the Laughing
Kookaburra.
From: Bob Rusk [m("rocketmail.com","bobrusk");">]
Sent: Friday, 28 December 2012 4:58 PM
To: Con Boekel; COG list
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] article in The
Australian about Orange-footed Scrubfowl
Hi
Con !
An old adage but a true one, especialy if you are a
gardener, " Be careful what you wish for "
Bob
Good read alert: There is a
full page article by Nicholas Rothwell in
today's The Australian: 'Love and War in
our own backyard'. It describes affectionately
the social context for a Top End issue of
interest.
I would swap Canberra's Peacockery for Darwin's
Scrubfowlery any day of the week.
Con
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