Ages of Some Captive Wild Birds
Ages of Some Captive Wild Birds.-Records on the longevity in birds are very scarce. As a consequence over a period of years I have kept records of them. A male Western Tanager (Pirango ludoviciana) was picked up under a tree at Point Defiance Park, Tacoma, Washington, after a severe wind storm in the last week of June, 1948. It has been in my possession until its death October 6, 1963, at the age of 15 years and 4 months. Mrs. Zella Schultz examined the dead bird and found all the organs in good condition with the exception of the lungs which showed scar tissue caused by pneumonia in 1962 and the kidneys which were gray and granulated, probably due to old age. The specimen is in the Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum.
A pair of Honeycreepers (Cyanerpes cyanells) was acquired in January of 1940 and a pair of White-eyes (Zosterops palpebrose) was obtained in March of the same year. The female White-eye died in December of 1961. The specimen is in the Thomas Burk Memorial Washington State Museum. At this writing the other birds are still living and are in good plumage.
A Sparrow Hawk (F&o sparverizls) died in July of 1963. The bird was brought in with a broken wing, that mended stiff, in September of 1949. It lived about 14 years in captivity and was in adult plumage when received.
Two female Saw-whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus) were received shot in the wing in October, 1946; one died in January of 1963, after I7 years, and the other in April, 1963, after about 17 1/2 years. Both were in adult plumage when received.-DELLA M. SCHUMACHER, Seattle, Washington, November 1,1963.
