Vol. VI 

 1907 



I ReviewSi, 207 



governing principle is explained these isolated facts piece 

 together into one continuous chain of meaning and of interest. 

 In the light of what this extremely useful book has to say, no 

 bird, however monstrous its structure or its habits may at first 

 appear, will be anything but a beautiful expression of the 

 influence of surroundings in the great scheme of things to which 

 it belongs. 



Correspondence. 



To the Editors of " The Evui." 



GALDENS. 



Sirs, — Referring to Mr. E. Scott's letter in The Emu, vol. vi., 

 part 3, page 151, respecting the probable identity of the birds 

 called " Galdens " by Dampier, I think it is taking too much 

 for granted in assuming that the Little Mangrove Bittern was 

 meant. Mr. Scott refers to the colony of these birds {Biitorides 

 stagnatilis) mentioned by Gould as observed by Gilbert near 

 Port Essington, and says: — "This may well have been the same 

 colony as observed by Dampier." Now, according to Mr. 

 Scott's letter in Emu, vol. vi., part i, page 22, Dampier observed 

 Galdens (not a colony) in Shark's Bay. It is a far cry from 

 Shark's Bay to Port Essington — a distance of about 1,800 

 miles. As I have seen a good deal of Shark's Bay, I venture to 

 assert that the following species of the Herodiones would be 

 much more likely to come under notice there (especially in a 

 passing visit, as Dampier's was) than Butorides stagnatilis, viz. : 

 — Demiegrettn sacra (Blue and White Reef-Heron), Notophoyx 

 novcE-JioUandii^ (White-fronted Heron), A', pacifica (White- 

 necked Heron), or Nycticorax caledonicus (Night-Heron). My 

 personal experience of Butorides stagnatilis is that it is a very 

 shy and solitary bird, only seldom seen feeding outside its 

 favourite shelter of dense mangroves. I have not observed this 

 species myself south of the North-west Cape, and take it to be 

 mostly found in the tropics, although it possibly does occur in 

 the mangroves which grow along the north and east sides of 

 Shark's Bay, and between the mouths of the Gascoyne River, 

 which empties into the northern portion of Shark's Bay. It 

 was near the mouth of the Gascoyne River that Gregory, in 

 the early exploring days, observed two Jabirus {Xenorhynchus 

 asiaticus) and shot one, parts of which were sent to Gould — 

 probably the only record of this species for that locality. I 

 have spent many days shooting for specimens in the vicinity of 

 the Gascoyne River delta, but never came across Butorides 

 stagnatilis, though, as I say, it is possible it may have been 

 overlooked. Upon turning over my book of field notes, made 

 during my residence of 16 years in the north-west of this 



