"Chicken of the sea." John Dory. A high quality, plump, flattish fish with a golden sheen, with an ugly but amiable face. It was first associated with Zeus, then with St Peter, as evidenced by the ‘finger marks’ left by him when he picked it up to remove a coin from its mouth to pay some taxes.
Ptarmigan. For much of the year the ptarmigan is simlar to the red or willow grouse, with a touch of white on the wings. In winter both sexes become pure white (as does the willow grouse). However, its habitiat is quite different as it prefers barren, stony mountain slopes, usually higher up than the willow grouse.
Hazel grouse. A game bird found in woodlands on hillsides, often perching in trees, especially aspen and birch, in Scandinavia and Baltic countries, the former Yugoslavia and Central and Eastern Europe, as well as mountainous regions of northern Italy.
Hen of the woods or maitake mushroom. A frilled fungus with many caps that grows on trees and which is edible when it is very young.
