THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
In 1843 Gray and Strickland, in conjunction with Gould, examined the 
Watling Drawings; they recognised the drawing of Falco connivens as 
applicable to the Owl named by Gould Athene (?) fortis, and immediately 
Gould, a firm believer in absolute priority, accepted the Lathamian name 
and sank his own as a synonym. He moreover wrote an apology as follows : 
It will be seen, on reference to the synonyms, that I described this bird 
in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society ’ under the specific name of 
fortiSy but I have since ascertained, through the kindness of the late Earl 
of Derby in affording me the use and inspection of the three volumes of 
drawings of Australian Birds, formerly in the possession of the late A. B. 
Lambert, Esq., that it is identical with the Winking Falcon of Latham ; any 
seeming inattention on my part in describing an apparently new Owl without 
consulting that author will, I hope, be readily excused, as few ornithologists 
would think of looking for the description of this bird under the genus Falco, 
It is due to the acumen of the late Mr. Strickland that, by means of the 
drawings alluded to, the present and other species described by Latham have 
been identified, a circumstance which has caused Aquila fucosa to become 
A, audax ; Falco frontatus, F. lunulatus ; Strix personata, S. novcehollandice, 
etc. ; unfortunately I did not obtain the loan of these drawings until my work 
was far advanced, otherwise the errors I now correct would not have 
occurred.” 
It will be gathered from this extract that Gould did not consider the 
drawings in the light put forward by some of his most ardent disciples who, 
without seeing them, called them the doubtful drawings of a botanist. 
Again, North actually quotes the above extract apparently as valuable and 
interesting information and then urges the rejection of the names founded 
upon these drawings. Of course, the action of the above writers was 
due to prejudice and ignorance of the drawings and their history. I am 
publishing copies of some of the Watling Drawings in the Austral Avian Record^ 
and study of these will tend to dispel doubts as to the validity of the Lathamian 
names. As above recorded, Gould himself was never in any doubt as to 
their applicability. 
Not many notes have been recorded as to the life-history of this species. 
Gould’s notes are extremely brief : “ Brushes, wooded guUies, and the sides 
of creeks are its favourite places of resort ; it is consequently not so restricted 
in the localities it chooses as the Hieracoglaux strenuus, which I have never 
known to leave the brushes. It sallies forth early in the evening, and even 
flies with perfect use of vision during the mid-day sun, when roused and 
driven from the trees upon which it has been sleeping. I have frequently 
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