The month of October is the ideal time to head to the mountains to witness this hunt, where one can hear the cries of the hunters resound like a primordial call in this wild majestic backdrop. This ancestral hunting technique dates bafck to the 15 th century. The hunt is carried out without a single gunshot, only the human voice, and unfolds over a dozen mountain passes, the traditional migratory passage of wood pigeons.

The hunters, numbering from 10 to 20 depending on the size of the pass, are posted in “palombières” or camouflaged huts spread along the length of the crest so as to steer the pigeons' flight towards a passage lined with nets.

To divert their flight, the tunters throw “palettes”, wood chips painted white, which for wood pigeons signal the imminent attack of the sparrow hawk, their natural predator. They thus change direction and the next step involves continuing to lead them towards the nets. A hunter further down the formation must then steer the pigeons onwards by waving a white flag and shouting in Basque.

If this last technique is executed properly, the birds proceed towards the nets, although, even once this is achieved, the battle's not quite yet won. The last of the stationed hunters must succeed in making the birds fly fully into the nets to become trapped. A gust of wind, a wood chip thrown too early... and the birds can fly over the net. If the pursuit is a success, hunters retrieve several live wood pigeons from the nets and place them in an enourmous black chasuble tied with a strap where calmed by the darkness, the birds become motionless.

Wood pigeons are sold to various local and seaside restaurants, and in season, one can sample such specialties as roasted wood pigeon or “salmis”, a ragout dish consisting of roasted game stewed in a wine sauce.

The hunters are generally locals, shepherds for the most part, who carry down from generation to generation their “savoir faire”. Here, traditions endure alongside a respect for nature.