According to The New York Times, about 30,000 ortolan are still captured and sold illegally in the South of France, with a single bird going for €150 ($180), or about the price of an ounce of coveted white truffles. Secret gatherings featuring the elusive meal have been documented.

Can you buy ortolan?

But – and this is a beluga-sized but – that does not include any caviar from that particular fish.

Is ortolan really good?

According to connoisseurs, the first taste is delicious, both salty and savoury with hazelnut overtones and the delicate, incomparable flavour of ortolan fat. Crunch the fine bones, as you would barbecued sardines.