Birds are not numerous, except during a few months of the year. Amongst the most noticeable are the ravens and the blackbirds. The ravens are unusually impertinent, and will steal the workmen’s dinners if they leave them unprotected upon the ground, or fly away with their caps in order to make nests with them. The blackbirds are eagerly hunted, especially during the months when the arbutus and myrtle berries are ripe, for at that time they are plump, and make very savoury and delicate eating. The Corsicans prefer blackbirds to any other kind of game, and go out in large parties to shoot them. Shooting blackbirds is a popular and fashionable form of “sport” with all who possess a gun. Not only are blackbirds roasted and eaten like game, but their flesh is also potted, forming “terrine de merle,” a kind of “pâté de foie gras.” Potted blackbird is now a widely known and much appreciated delicacy. There are millions of bees, wild and tame. Those kept at home are housed in rectangular boxes, and not in dome-shaped hives. The honey has a strong taste--a taste which suggests the odour of the maquis--and is not agreeable to everyone. Travellers in out-of-the-way parts of Corsica would find it worth remembering that honey can sometimes be obtained in village inns and farmhouses when butter is quite unobtainable. CHAPTER XVI CHARACTER In the previous chapters we have learned something about the character of this island race. We have seen that in general the men are lazy and quarrelsome, yet fond of their country and their liberty, and ready to fight and die for both when the call comes. When Napoleon became the ruler of France, he proclaimed himself a Frenchman. This offended most of his countrymen, who think themselves superior to any of the other peoples of Europe. They never forgave the great soldier for disowning his native land in this way; and though in a few places you will see statues to his memory, yet you will not find his portrait in any of the peasants’ houses, or upon the walls of the village inns. Paoli and Sampiero are there, but not Napoleon. The love of the Corsican for his country is only equalled by his love for his family and his home.