PUFFIN AND SNOWY OWL MAY BE 'ON PATH TO EXTINCTION' WARNS AMERICAN AUTHOR

TIME was when hummingbird - served in a walnut shell - was on the menu of an upmarket  restaurant at Boston Harbour in the USA.

It was  regarded as a special delicacy though perhaps not so rich in flavour as another culinary favourite, the now-extinct Eskimo curlew.

This offbeat information is included in an absorbing new book, Birdpedia - A Brief Compendium of Avian Lore, by American ornithologist Christopher W. Leahy.

In his section on how wild birds regularly used to feature on the menu in the United States, he notes that, even today, robin pie occasionally reaches (illegally) the table in some rural areas.

Leahy, whose other books include the authoritative Birds of Mongolia, is extraordinarily exhaustive in his survey, with almost 200 entries on topics ranging from plumage and migration to birds in art, fiction, drama (including Shakespeare), poetry and religion.

To his credit, despite his cheerful tone, the author's perspective is not one of undiluted feel-good optimism.

He says it how it is, warning that iconic species such as Atlantic puffin and snowy owl  may be "on the path to extinction".

In his survey of man-made threats, he describes "the indiscriminate use of highly toxic chemicals to control insects  as one of the chief follies of the modern era because many birds depend on insects for their diet".

Back in the 1960s, the American writer, Rachel Carson, was the first to warn on pesticides in her famous book, Silent Spring.

It led to her being targeted in a smear campaign, not just from the agro-chemical lobby but also from some politicians, with one coming up with the bizarre statement that, because unmarried, she was  "probably a communist"! 

The author notes with sadness that, during her work on Silent Spring, Carson developed breast cancer and died of complication in April, 1964. she was only 57.

At just £9.99 in hardback, Birdpedia represents excellent value  for money, both for Leahy's breezily-written and authoritative text and for the enchanting sketches by illustrator Abby McBride.

It is published in the UK by Princeton University Press and available wherever books are sold.