Bygone birding: John Gould applauds Dotterel for its 'succulency and flavour'

                                                    

Cute (and tasty) - the illustration of Dotterel in John Gould's book

Below is an extract of John Gould's account of the Dotterel in Volume 1 (1873) of The Birds of Great Britain:

From the unmistakable evidence of actual dissection, I have ascertained that the largest and most richly coloured birds are females, and that their average weight is about five  ounces while the comparatively dull-coloured birds, rarely exceeding  four ounces are males. 

I have often thought that the state of plumage in which they arrive in the spring is merely a seasonal dress, and that their winter garb is not characterised by that rich colouring. 

It would appear, too, that the young of both sexes, during their first autumn, are destitute of these colours and have the head of a nearly uniform brown.

A history of the Dotterel would be sadly incomplete without a passing sentence on the value of the bird as an article of food and of commerce. 

During its vernal migration, the Dotterel has from time immemorial been captured and shot for the purposes of the table.

Great numbers are annually forwarded to London where, in spring, it may be seen gracing the shops of the respectable poulterers, such as Mr. Bailey, of Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, and Mr. Fisher, of Duke Street, Piccadilly. 

The Dotterel in the month of May, when the London season is at its height, and game prohibited, is quite a godsend to the epicure, competing with the fattened Quail and Ortolan, both of which, in my opinion, it far surpasses in succulency and flavour.

Indeed, I think it may be regarded as the very finest of the British birds for the table, the Snipe, Woodcock, and Grouse not excepted. 

A gift of such has been, and still is deemed, worthy of royalty. Whoever may have an opportunity of partaking of this delicious viand will not be disappointed.

The autumnal migration of these birds does not afford the same opportunities for procuring them as that of spring, for they return more irregularly.

Neither do they keep so exclusively to the downs, but disperse more generally over the country; few autumn-killed birds are therefore seen in our markets.

Though perhaps not so swift as that of the Golden Plover, the flight of the Dotterel is extremely rapid.

When disturbed, they take long flights for a mile or more, and then, suddenly wheeling round, often return to the spot whence they bad risen. 

The usual mode of shooting them is to walk quickly round the trip, and gradually to diminish the circle until within range, when they become confused and are readily killed. 

They move over the ground with great rapidity, grace and elegance characterising all their movements. 

They so love to dust themselves in the fallows or on the hillsides, that a friend of mine, the late Mr. Hewitt of Reading, informed me he had frequently seen them cover themselves entirely, with the exception of the head, by scratching the dust over them.