In 1883, Miss Mary Gullington was gifted a small bird by her father who often
traveled abroad for his mysterious profession. His journeys kept him away from his
family for months at a time and he always brought back strange artifacts and
fossils.
He wanted to give her this feathered companion that he purchased from a trader in
Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka) because he felt guilty that he was away all the
time. Mary was very excited to have a new friend. She named it Phil and tried to
feed it worms and bugs because the bird acted like the chickens they had on their
farm, but Phil preferred beans, nuts, and cabbage. She took the bird to school one
day and it caused a lot of mayhem tearing pages out of books and trying to touch
everything. She tried to look for what kind of bird it was in the school library but
could not find any information matching its description. The science teacher
thought it as a cross between a turkey and some kind of parrot. Before long, the
bird grew to an enormous size. Almost a year after she brought it to school, Phil
stood 7 feet tall. Since they lived on a secluded 159 acres of property in Dutchess
County, NY it allowed her family to keep the gigantic flightless bird secret. When
her father returned from one of his excursions in 1885, he was surprised to see that
the bird stood more than 12 feet. They never told anyone about the bird because
they feared it would attract people who would intend to exploit it. Mary would rush
home after school to romp with Phil in the woods and splash their feet in the
stream. When Phil was almost 15 feet tall, she was able to ride on Phil’s back like a
horse. Phil was her favorite companion for years and lived out his life on the farm.
When Mary as married and moved to her new home, she kept the saddle that was
made for the rides and never told her husband it was for a bird named Phil. Years
later, there were stories of a little girl riding on a great saddled bird that had been
referred to as local lore and
myth.
