'^''•'^''^ I Stray Feathers. lOI 



IJD7 



marked as occurring in area 8, and 240A, XeropJiila castanei- 

 ventris as occurring in area 9. The former {C. 7inicolor) was 

 obtained at Yalgoo, east of Geraldton, and the latter {X. castanei- 

 ventris) was obtained at Day Dawn, which is N.E. of Yalgoo ! — 

 Tom Carter. Broome Hill (VV.A.), 24/6/07. 



Forgotten Feathers. 



"GALDENS," alias " GAULDINGS." 



By Tom Carter, Broome Hill, W.A. 



Referring to previous correspondence respecting Dampier's 

 "Galdens"' {Emu, vol. vi., pages 152, 207), the following descrip- 

 tive account of the " Gattldiiigl' which is given below word for 

 word as printed in an old volume now in my possession, will, I 

 think, be of interest to many ornithologists, and also prove that 

 it is by no means certain that by " Galden " Darapier meant the 

 Little Mangrove-Bittern {Butorides stagnatilis). 



I have had the volume in question for some time, but only 

 noticed the reference to Gaiilding this week, when I had taken 

 up the work to improve an idle evening. The book was pub- 

 lished on 1st January, 1808, by H. D. Symonds, and contains a 

 short life of George Louis le Clerc, Count of Buffon, by 

 Condorcet, and also pi^rts of Buffon's " Natural History." But, 

 unfortunately, though the book is a bulky one, and has many 

 coloured plates, it is incomplete, and does not contain a plate of 

 the bird in question, the only birds figured being the " Avocetta" 

 and " Crown-Bird." Buffon's description of the " Large White 

 Gaulding" might well be for the Large White Egret, but what 

 species of Hcrodioms his " Blue Gaulding " referred to gives 

 room for much theory, as the birds he described are apparently 

 taken haphazard from all parts of the world, and are without 

 classification. The " Gaulding " comes between the " Curasow " 

 and " Otis," and a few pages further on are accounts of the " Red- 

 legged Horseman," the "Pokkoe," the "Umbre," the "Kokoi," &c. 



The " Sheathbill " and " Fan-tailed Flycatcher " are briefly 

 mentioned as hailing from New Zealand. The birds mentioned 

 as being so numerous in Greenland were probably one of the 

 AlcidcB, possibly Alca impcmiis, and do not appear to have much 

 bearing on the " Gaulding." 



Exi'RAcr FROM Buffon's "Natural History." 



THE GAULDING. 



There are several varieties of this species, the most remarkable of which 

 is the Large White Gaulding, which measures from the end of the bill to 

 that of the tail about three feet and a half, and about four feet from ihe 

 extension of each wing ; the bill is very long, angular, and of a yellow- 

 colour, in which there are two long slits for nostrils. The neck is very 

 crooked, resembling in some degree a Roman .S, and is about eleven inches 



