Editorial. 
25 
A Homing Stanley Parrakeet. Our esteemed member, 
Mr. Iv .1. l5i\)oks, informs iiie thut a Stanley Parrakeet, which escaped 
from liis aviary last August and not been seen since, has just returned 
to its aviary and is in excellent condition. This bird has evidently had 
no dilliculty in catering for itself, even though, presumably, it has 
remained in the North tiie whole period — the latter portion of this 
period, November and December were anything but kindly as to 
climVxtic conditions for a tropical bird to fend for itself in a strange 
country. This amply demonstrates that this species can be kept out 
of doors aU the year round. 
Dr. BOWdler Sharpe. All interested in bird-life, will 
learn with deep regret of the passing away on December 25th last of 
Dr. Bowdler Sliarpe, the able and energetic head of the Bird-room of 
the British Museum. His ready courtesy and kindly help to those 
seeking his aid in the naming of skins of rare birds or living speci- 
mens, made for him many friends, and, he will be much missed both 
by the casual and regular frequenters of the Bird-room. He com- 
menced his career as a clerk at Messrs. W. H. Smith and Sons', passing 
thence to Mr. Quaritch's ; in 1869 he entered upon the duties of (drat) 
librarian to the Zoological Society, and in 1872 he passed to the Bird- 
room of the British Museum; at this period ('1872) the number of 
specimens was well under 50,000 ; at the time of his demise, the total 
was but little short of half a million. The Catalogues of the British 
Museum, as well as various monographs, bearing his name on their 
title paged, will ever remain a monument of his ability, energy, and 
thoroughness. 
The Longevity of Birds. The reading of the record of a 
Zebra Waxbill living for the space of nine years as a cage bird, in an 
ordinary room (vide " Cage Birds," January 8th, 1910), reminds me 
that such records are of much interest, that evidently many do not 
consider such sufficiently noteworthy to place on record. This is not so 
and I trust our members will place on record cases of longevity, not 
only among their own birds, but also any which come under their 
notice — the species in question is one of the most enduring of the 
Waxbills, and I have had numerous cases of their living over 
eight years, out of doors in my garden aviary all the year round. At 
the present time I have a pair of Cockateels, simply perfect as regards 
plumage and vigour, which came to me fully adult, and have been in 
my possession nine and a half years, and apparently are quite likely to 
live as many more. Fully one half of the occupants of my aviaries at 
