Feathered game is the category of birds hunted for sport and food — grouse, pheasant, partridge, and their relatives. Distinct from furred game (hare, rabbit, deer), these are the birds of the shooting season, hung traditionally to develop flavour before roasting. The flesh is lean, dark, and distinctly flavoured — stronger than farmed poultry, with the gaminess that hanging and the bird’s wild diet produce. The season structures their availability: grouse from August, pheasant and partridge from autumn, each with its traditional accompaniments — bread sauce, game chips, redcurrant jelly. Food safety around game centres on lead shot — the reason for the shift to non-lead ammunition — and on the hanging time that develops flavour while testing hygiene. Feathered game is wild food at its most ceremonial.