Of the Birds and Fowls Both of the Land and Water.

The princely eagle, and soaring hawk,
Whom in their unknown ways there’s none can chalk:
The humbird for some queen’s rich cage more fit,
Than in the vacant wilderness to sit.
The swift-winged swallow sweeping to and fro,
As swift as arrow from Tartarian bow.
When as Aurora’s infant day new springs,
There the morning mounting lark her sweet lays sings.
The harmonious thrush, swift pigeon, turtledove,
Who to her mate doth ever the constant prove.
The turkey-pheasant, heathcock, partridge rare,
The carrion-tearing crow, and hurtful stare,
The long-lived raven, the ominous screech-owl,
Who tells, as old wives say, diasters foul.
The drowsy madge that leaves her day day-loved nest,
And loves to rove when day-birds be at rest;
The eel-murthering hearn, and greedy cormorant,
That near the creeks in Moorish marshes haunt.
The bellowing bittern, the long-legged crane,
Presaging winters hard, and dearth of grain.
The silver swan that tunes her mournful breath,
To sing the dirge of her approaching death.
The tatling oldwives, and the cackling geese,
The fearfull gull that shuns the murthering piece.
The strong winged mallard, with the nible teal,
And ill-shaped loon who his harsh notes doth squeal.
There widgins, sheldrakes, and humilities,
Snites, doppers, sea-larks, in whole millions flee.
- 1634. William Wood. New Englands Prospect. p. 48-9, Vaughn ed.

Perceive:

“…I will show you a description of the fowls of the air, as most proper in the ordinary course. And first of the Swan, because she is the biggest of all the fowls of that country. There are of them in Merrimac River and other parts of the country, great store of them at the seasons of the year.

“The flesh is not much desired of the inhabitants, but the skins may be accompted a commodity, fit for diverse uses, both for feathers and quills.”

- 1637 Morton, T.  New English Canaan, Dempsey ed.p.62.

Swans

“There be likewise many swans which frequent the fresh ponds and rivers, seldom consorting themselves with ducks and geese. These be very good meat: the price of one is six shillings.”

- Wood, W.  New Englands Prospect.. 52

Swimming swan

Identify:

The native swan (now known as the whistling swan or the Tundra swan: Cygnus columbianus) should not to be confused with more newly introduced Mute Swan – that the one with the little ball on their orange beak:

Mute Swan - orange beak -not native in New England

Although, when they’re feeding, it’s hard to tell them apart.

Eat:

To Bake all manner of Sea-Fowl, as Swan, Whopper, to be eaten cold.

Take a swan, bone, parboil, and lard it with great lard, two ounces of pepper, three of nutmeg, and four of salt, season the fowl, and lay it in the pye, with a good store of butter, strew a few whole cloves on the rest of the seasoning, lay on large sheets of lard over it, and good store of butter: then close it up in a rye-paste or meal course boulted, and make up with boiling liquor, and make it up stiff: or you may bake them to eat hot, only give them half the seasoning.

In place of baking any of these fowls in pyes, you may bake them in earthen pans or pots, for to be preserved cold, they will keep the longer.

In the same manner you may bake all sorts of wild geese, tame geese, bran-geese, muscovia ducks, gulls, shovellers, herns, bitterns, curlews, heath-cocks, teals, ollines, ruffes, brewes, pewits, mews, sea-pies, dap-chickens, strents, dotterils, knots, gravelins, ox-eyes, red shanks, & c.

-            1678(4^th ed) Robert May. The Accomplist Cook. p. 124. Falconwood Press ed.:1992.

Swan pie - all dressed up