The lifespan of birds varies significantly in captivity and the wild. If you keep them vaccinated and get their checkups on time, they are safest in your home. In the wild, situations are different.
The birds need to face various challenges daily to stay alive. It is hard to look at a bird and tell If it is aging or not.
On the internet, you can find several bird age lists, stating the long lives of several birds, and it piques your curiosity, “what pet bird lives the longest?”
Page Contents
What Pet Birds Live The Longest?
When getting yourself a pet, you want it to stay with you for a longer time. Here is a bird’s age list for you to choose a long-term companion.
Some birds normally live a life of 10-15 years. But there are some birds which live for even 50 years. Besides, the care you give them has a larger impact on their lifespan.
Related Read: Do Birds Need Vaccines? ( Everything About Vaccination For Birds )
Birds Age List
| Birds | Age |
| African Gray Parrots | 40 to 60 years, or more |
| Amazon Parrots | 25 to 75 years |
| Budgerigars (Parakeets) | 5 to 18 years |
| Caiques | Up to 50 years |
| Canaries | 10 years |
| Cockatiels | 10 to 15 years |
| Cockatoos | 20 to 60 years, depending on the species |
| Conures | 10 to 30 years, depending on the species |
| Doves | 20 years or more, much shorter in the wild |
| Eclectus Parrots | 30 to 50 years, or more |
| Finches | 5 to 9 years |
| Lorikeets (Lories) | 10 to 30 years |
| Lovebirds | 10 to 15 years |
| Macaws | 30 to 50 years, or more, depending on the species |
| Pigeons | 15 years (in the wild, it is only about 5 years) |
| Pionus Parrots | 25 years |
| Senegal Parrots | Up to 50 years (in the wild, it is only about 25 years) |
Related Read: How To Tell If A Bird Is Pregnant? | Pregnant Bird Behavior
Canaries
The canaries are one of the most popular pet birds. Their beautiful voice has earned them lots of homes in cities.
But the fact that they can live up to 25 years makes them more desirable. They live 10-15 years normally, but they won’t leave you for up to 25 years if you take care of them.
Budgies And Parakeets
Budgies and parakeets make one of the most loved pets. Even though they are small, they stay around for 18 years generally. For smaller birds, it is a long time. Some of the parakeets, like monks and Quakers, can live up to 30 years.
Finches
Their general lifespan is 5 years which is as small as the bird itself. But take care of it, and it won’t leave you for almost 20 years.
Macaws
Macaws are large birds, and they live a long life. This species of the parrot family can grow as long as three feet. Bring a macaw at home, and it will live a happy life of 60- 80 years. It’s a long time, and sometimes the birds even live for two or more generations with your family.
Amazons
These birds are smaller in size than macaws, and people love them for their color. Their average life spans from 50 to 70 years. They are intelligent birds with a playful and talkative nature that bring colors to your family.
Cockatoos
Cockatoos come from Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and nearby places. Cockatoos vary differently in size, and thus their lifespan also varies significantly.
While small cockatoos live up to 20 years, larger ones have a lifespan of almost 60 years and more.
The longest-lived cockatoo in history is Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo named Cookie which lived in Brookfield Zoo, Chicago. It lived for 83 years, which is a record.
Related Read: Do Pet Birds Smell? Even With Well Maintenance?
What Birds Live The Longest In The Wild?
In the wild, life is difficult, unpredictable, and fragile. Moreover, it is even more difficult to ascertain the exact lifespan of a bird because of the lack of hatching time. Still, some of the longest recorded lives in the wild are as follows. The exact life of wild birds can vary.
| Birds | Age |
| Laysan Albatross | 37-05 |
| Arctic Tern | 34-00 |
| Great Frigatebird | 30-00 |
| Western Gull | 27-10 |
| Trumpeter Swan | 23-10 |
| Canada Goose | 23-06 |
| American Coot | 22-04 |
| Bald Eagle | 21-11 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 21-06 |
| Mourning Dove | 19-03 |
| Great Homed Owl | 17-04 |
| Blue Jay | 16-04 |
| Northern Cardinal | 15-09 |
| American Crow | 14-07 |
| Great Crested Flycatcher | 13-11 |
| Lesser Prairie-Chicken | 13-06 |
| American Robin | 13-11 |
| House Sparrow | 13-04 |
| Black-bellied Plover | 12-08 |
| Wrentit | 12-07 |
| Wild Turkey | 12-06 |
| Peregrine Falcon | 12-03 |
| American Kestrel | 11-07 |
| Song Sparrow | 11-04 |
| Tree Swallow | 11-00 |
| Acadian Flycatcher | 10-11 |
| Dark-eyed Junco | 10-09 |
| Scarlet Tanager | 10-01 |
| House Wren | 7-01 |
Southern Cassowary
In the lifespan of birds list, Southern cassowary is the first. It is the second-heaviest bird on earth and has lived quite a long life as per records.
In the wild, these birds can survive forty years at maximum. In captivity, the life expectancy of a southern cassowary has reached 48 years. A cassowary also has a record of 61 years of life.
Emu
Emu is a wild bird, which is quite large. It is normal for an Emu to live up to 20 years. The highest it has reached is 30 years in captivity.
Related Read: What Not To Feed Wild Birds? ( Harmful Foods For Wild Birds )
Laysan Albatross
When talking about longest-lived birds, it is important to mention Wisdom, the female Laysan Albatross Living in Midway Atoll, U.S., who has completed 70 happy years of life in March 2021.
These birds have an average lifespan of 42 years and 50 months in the wild.
Ostrich
Ostriches are famous for their long legs and frightening run. But they are also known for their long lives. They happily live in the wild for almost 50 years.
Lifespan Of A Sparrow
Sparrows are one of the most beautiful birds on earth, and despite the fact that there are several species of birds that people keep as pets, sparrows are still the first choice of many owners. They can be seen everywhere.
The lifespan of a sparrow depends upon its habitat. If it lives in the wild, it is very unsafe, as it is a small bird and hawks love them. If they are living as a pet, they are safer, and some house sparrows have lived as long as 23 years.
Some of the longest-lived sparrow species are-
- White-Crowned Sparrow- 13.3 Years
- Chipping Sparrow- 9.8 years
- Italian Sparrow- 20 Years
- Fox Sparrow- 9.7 Years
- Golden-Crowned Sparrow- 10 years
Related Read: How To Cope With The Loss Of My Pet Bird
Wrap Up
There are several longest-lived birds that have lived almost 100 years. Yes, some birds have survived such an exceptional lifespan. But they are exceptions.
In addition, it is very difficult to judge a bird’s age in the wild. First, it is not possible to ascertain when they were born. Second, they don’t show wrinkles or a hunched back.
The life expectancy of a bird depends on several factors, the most important of which is care.
If you care for them properly, these birds don’t leave their loved nest. In the wild, they evolve, earn, and live life on the edge.
