What’s a Beccafico?

Ever heard of a beccafico? No? And you have the audacity to call yourself a birder? Well, I hadn’t either, but according to the judges of the National Spelling Bee it’s a kind of bird.

I found this definition at Tiscali’s Dictionary of Difficult Words:

n. European songbird, considered a table delicacy, especially in Italy.

The result from Answers.com was more specific:

A small songbird or warbler of various genera, especially the European garden warbler (Sylvia hortensis), that is eaten as a delicacy in Italy and France.

And now you know.