In article >,
Mark Thorson > wrote:

> In this particular case, you linked to this article to back up your
> assertion that the ortolan is "endangered":
>
> http://www.sekj.org/PDF/anz42-free/anz42-091.pdf>
>
> The word "endangered" does not even appear in that article. In fact,
> it says that BirdLife International has classified this species as
> "vulnerable" in 2000.

And you're a delusory, equivocating moron who will not waste my time
again. The title of this recent *April, 2005* article published by the
Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board, which you so
expediently omitted, is "Population Crash of the Ortolan Bunting..."
Whatever the nomenclature--- endangered, vulnerable, in decline or
otherwise--- hunting the creature (emberiza hortulana) is banned in some
regions, because of population decline. This is a fact well documented
throughout the relevant professional literature. You insist otherwise
because the article does not contain the word "endangered". This is
simply a silly sophistic ploy on your part to hide the fact that hunting
and eating this bird is considered not only in 'poor taste' but illegal
in some regions including Europe. Your incessant regurgitation of the
same ideas has done nothing to alter the hideous reality of your ethical
and cognitive shortcomings.

Below is a BBC article that, while somewhat dated, serves to illustrate
the controversy surrounding the bizarre rituals employed in the
consumption of this bird as well as the $10,000 fine for its illegal
persecution.

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/425485.stm>

French hunters target bunting
Emberiza hortulana: 'Delicious' and under threat

By Hugh Schofield in Paris

Hunters in south-western France are planning to defy a ban that comes
into force on Friday, prohibiting them from hunting a small migratory
bird known as the ortolan.

A tiny bird from the bunting family, the ortolan is regarded as a
traditional delicacy - but environmentalists say it is gradually being
hunted out of the sky.

The ortolan crosses south-west France between late August and early
September - and for the past 150 years vast numbers of them have been
tempted from their journey into baited traps.

Environmentalists say the ortolan is being hunted from the skies
Caught alive, they are fattened up - then, in a culinary extravaganza,
fed with brandy before being popped into boiling fat and eaten whole,
beak, innards and all.

For the full experience, the diner drapes a napkin over his or her face
to savour the aroma.

The legal status of the ortolan has been in limbo for some years.

President Mitterrand famously ate some shortly before he died, thus
incurring the wrath of those who said it was already a protected species.

This year, for the first time, there is no question: A government order
makes catching the bird punishable by a $10,000 fine.

But the Gascon hunters are determinedly independent to the last - and
have no intention of complying.
..