When in Italy I ate sparrows and wood pigeon with the local farmers. I would not hesitate to cook and eat them in hard times. In Tuscany they catch birds in nets at dusk along flyways bordering the crop fields. Lo spiedo bresciano goes back centuries, and was a holiday dish of those too poor to afford other meats, and not allowed, by the ruling nobility, to hunt anything larger. The Contadini bent on providing a meal for their families naturally went after what the nobility didn't care about, small birds which ate the crops in the fields, because barnyard animals that provided commodities such as eggs, or be sold to raise cash, were much too valuable to be eaten. The typical recipe is called Lo Spiedo Bresciano aka the Brescian Spit
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Today it is "illegal" to catch what was once commonly allowed, so to enjoy a traditional Speido Bresciano you must catch (or shoot) the birds yourself, have a friend who hunts, or buy commercially raised small game birds.
The birds are plucked, eyes are removed, and they are gutted. Then they are spitted, arranging so the heads all face the same same way, and putting the smallest birds at the ends of the spit where the heat is lower, with a slice of pork or venison loin, or rabbit rolled up around a strip of lard and a sage leaf between each pair of birds. The spit is basted with melted butter.
Figure about three to four birds, and an equivalent volume of other meat, venison, boar, veal, pork or chicken, per person, cutting other meats to the size of the dressed birds to insure everything cooks at the same rate.
When you have assembled and cut your meats, spit them in repeating order, Bresciani (using everything) start with a slice of potato, followed by a rolled up piece of pork, a sage leaf, a songbird (spitted side-to-side), sage, potato, a piece of rabbit, sage, potato, a songbird, sage, potato, a piece of rabbit or chicken, sage, potato, a pork spare rib, sage, and so on, until all is spitted. When spitting the meats, make certain the birds are all arranged facing the same way.
Roast over a hot hardwood fire which has burned down to coals, and sing heartily while sipping red wine, serve with salad and bread. In boca al lupo!
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