Important: Safety Warning
This page describes collecting wild birds' eggs, shooting birds for specimens, or similar practices. These activities are now illegal under wildlife-protection laws, including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and they contributed to the decline of the very species described.
This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon.
Plover
Although the plover is related to the Bartramian sandsniper and is found along beaches, it nests in the uplands and is not considered a water bird. It may be cooked like the Bartramian sandsniper or papabote, but old tradition requires that it should either be braised or served with the wild mushrooms which flourish near its habitat-at least it might be smothered in a tin of mushroom soup. The eggs are eaten in Europe where they are plentiful. For the English gourmet trade they are imported from Holland and, in season, garnished baskets of them at an extravagant price appear in Piccadilly clubs, snack bars, and restaurants. They are simply boiled in water and the shells are left on. The whites never get hard, but remain gelatinous, and are bluish in color and opalescent, edible jewels well worth robbing a nest for in the few districts where young plovers' broods can be spared.