Chris Hill Wrote:

> For quite a while, and maybe still currently, the majority of
> all band returns of wintering Common and Roseate Terns came
> from *one individual fisherman* who sent scores of them from
> the coast of South America somewhere.

Roseate Terns are also a delicacy in Ghana and other parts of West
Africa. They are caught on fishing boats by small boys using snares.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has been quite
successful with education programmes hightlighting how rare Roseate
Terns are and how they should be protected.

Michael Price Wrote:

> A New Zealand shorebird bander said that the most returns for
> banded godwits, presumably Bar- and Black-tailed Godwits, come
> from restaurants in China.

It's only comparatively recently in the UK that the number of
banding returns from butcher shops has declined. Most often is was
geese and ducks, but shorebirds such as Snipe and Lapwing (vanellus
vanellus) was reasonably common.


Still on a culinery note. I know some UK birders who are currently
EATING their way through the British list. I suppose this puts the
shooting of vagrants in a whole new light :-))


Stuart MacKay