Ortolan bunting

Ortolan bunting
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Emberizidae
Genus:	Emberiza
Species:	E. hortulana
Binomial name
Emberiza hortulana Linnaeus, 1758

The ortolan, or ortolan bunting (Emberiza hortulana) is a bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a passerine family now separated by most modern scholars from the finches, Fringillidae. The bird's common name is French, from the Latin hortulanus, the gardener bird, (from hortus, a garden).

In September 2007, the French government announced its intent to enforce long ignored laws protecting the bird.

Physical characteristics

The ortolan is 16 cm in length and weighs 20–25 grams (0.71–0.88 oz). In appearance and habits it much resembles its congener the yellowhammer, but lacks the bright colouring of that species; the ortolan's head, for instance, is greenish-grey, instead of a bright yellow. The song of the cock resembles that of the yellowhammer.

Behavior

Ortolan nests are placed on or near the ground.

Seeds are the natural diet, but beetles and other insects are eaten when feeding their young.

Distribution and habitat

A native of most European countries and western Asia, its distribution throughout its breeding range seems to be very local, and for this no obvious reason can be assigned. It reaches as far north as Scandinavia and beyond the Arctic Circle, frequenting cornfields and their neighbourhoods. It is an uncommon vagrant in spring and particularly autumn to the British Isles.

Gastronomy

For centuries, a rite of passage for French gourmets was the eating of the Ortolan. These tiny birds—captured alive, force-fed, then drowned in Armagnac—were roasted whole and eaten that way, bones and all, while the diner draped his head with a linen napkin to preserve the precious aromas and, some believe, to hide from God.

The Wine Spectator

File:Emberiza hortulana 1.jpg

E. hortulana, female

File:Emberiza hortulana 2.jpg

E. hortulana, male

File:Emberiza hortulana MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.217 Neschers.jpg

Ortolan eggs - MHNT

The birds are caught with nets set during their migratory flight to Africa. They are then kept in covered cages or boxes. This apparent night-time causes the birds to gorge themselves on grain (usually millet seed) until they double their size. "Roman Emperors stabbed out ortolans’ eyes in order to make the birds think it was night, making them eat even more". The birds are then thrown into a container of Armagnac which both drowns and marinates the birds.

The bird is roasted for 8 minutes and then plucked. The consumer then places the bird feet first into their mouth while holding onto the bird's head. The ortolan is then eaten whole, or without the head and the consumer spits out the larger bones. The traditional way French gourmands eat ortolans is to cover their heads and face with a large napkin or towel while consuming the bird. The purpose of the towel is debated. Some claim it is to absorb the maximum aroma with the flavour as they consume the entire bird at once, others have stated "Tradition dictates that this is to shield – from God’s eyes – the shame of such a decadent and disgraceful act" and others have suggested the towel hides the consumers spitting out bones. This use of the towel was begun by a priest, a friend of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

At one time, the island of Cyprus formed a chief depot for the exportation of ortolans, which were pickled in spices and vinegar and packed in casks containing from 300 to 400 each. In the early 20th century, between 400 to 500 casks were annually exported from Cyprus.

Noted meals

• In the 1944 novella Gigi and its adaptations, the title character is taught by her Aunt Alicia the proper way to eat ortolans.
• In 1975, food critic Craig Claiborne made a winning $300 bid in an auction for a dinner for two, courtesy of American Express, at any restaurant in the world that takes its credit card. Claiborne selected Chez Denis in Paris for a $4000 meal (equivalent to $18,000 in 2021) that included a course of ortolans.
• In 1996, François Mitterrand's last meal included this specially prepared bird.
• Anthony Bourdain describes the eating of ortolans in the opening to his 2010 book Medium Raw.
• In the episode 11 - season 2 of the 2014 drama series Hannibal, the main character shows how the ortolan is prepared
• The song "KFC", released by the band Gentle Brontosaurus in 2015, describes the ritual of eating ortolans.

Legal status

Ortolan hunting was banned in France in 1999, but the law was poorly enforced and it is thought that up to 50,000 ortolans were killed each year. According to France’s League for the Protection of Birds, France's ortolan population fell 30 per cent between 1997 and 2007. In 2007, the French government vowed to strictly enforce some existing rules about banning the practice, with the maximum fine set at €6,000 (£4,800). Killing and cooking ortolans is banned across the EU. In 2007, the pressure from France's League for Protection of Birds and from the European Union resulted in the French government promising to enforce the EU directive protecting the ortolan.

European Union member states prohibit:

• deliberate killing or capture of these birds by any method;
• deliberate destruction of, or damage to, their nests and eggs or removal of their nests;
• taking their eggs in the wild and keeping these eggs;
• deliberate disturbance of these birds particularly during the period of breeding and rearing, insofar as this would have a significant negative effect on the birds;
• keeping birds, the hunting and capture of which is prohibited;
• sale, transport for sale, keeping for sale and the offering for sale of live or dead birds and of any readily recognizable parts or derivatives of these birds.

External links

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• Ortolan Bunting (emberiza hortulana) from the website of the European Commission
• 343: Poultry Slam 2007, a November 2007 episode of This American Life with a segment about eating ortolan
• Oiseaux Photographs, text, map; (French)
• Ageing and sexing (PDF; 1.6 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta and Gerd-Michael Heinze