Last Updated on March 31, 2024 by Carrie Stephens
Birds live longer than comparable-sized mammals, and parrots live longer than other birds. Cockatoos and Amazon parrots are exceptionally long-lived, often surviving for 70+ years.
Parrots have longer lifespans because they have superior survival skills, while their bodies cope better with the effects of aging. Their mitochondrial DNA is uniquely protected from tissue damage.
Parrots’ genes have evolved, priming them to live long lives. Other birds reproduce more frequently, which wears down their bodies, causing them to age faster and die sooner.
Their large brains and cognitive ability allow parrots to avoid predators and environmental threats.
Why Parrots Live So Long
The following factors contribute to how and why parrots have evolved:
Physical Size
The smaller the animal, the shorter its average lifespan.
The largest macaw (hyacinths) weighs the same as a chihuahua and is as long as a pig. Chihuahuas live 12-20 years, and pigs live 15-20 years. However, hyacinth macaws live for 40-60 years.
Mice, rabbits, chickens, guinea pigs, dogs, cats, and other small animals rarely live beyond 20. However, horses, blue whales, elephants, gorillas, and other big animals often live much longer.
Longevity relative to size is crucial due to body temperature and metabolic rate.
Metabolic Rate
Volume exists in a given space relative to the total surface area.
The less volume something has, and the less space there is, the easier it is to cool down or heat up. For example, it’s easier to heat a cup of coffee than a swimming pool.
The same applies to animals. Small animals become hot or cold faster based on the temperature of the space they inhabit, which they achieve faster than large animals.
Warm-blooded animals have biological mechanisms that retain their body temperature. For example, humans sweat, and dogs use their tongues to cool down.
Metabolism is the chemical function that turns food into energy.
Oxidative Stress
Small animals are likelier to overheat or freeze due to their size, requiring a faster metabolism to survive. The problem is that free radicals are produced during cellular metabolism.
Free radicals are a normal part of the metabolic process. However, they cause oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress damages a being’s mitochondrial DNA and deteriorates the body. Small birds live shorter lives than parrots because their high metabolism accelerates aging.
Parrots’ high metabolism is vital to their evolutionary development and survival.
Slower Reproduction Rate
When a small bird’s body deteriorates due to its high metabolism, it must reproduce more regularly. It must produce many offspring to compensate for those that die young.
After all, birds often die in the wild due to:
- Starvation.
- Dehydration.
- Predators.
- Illness.
- Disease.
- Severe weather.
- Accidents.
This trains an animal’s genes to be short-lived. However, parrots can live longer when a bird species spends thousands of years evolving the following traits:
- High intelligence.
- Agility and endurance.
- Calls to warn flock members.
- Unihemispheric slow-wave sleep, where half the brain remains active.
- Elevated resting glucose levels.
- Accident avoidance techniques.
- Knowing what foods to eat and avoid.
Intelligence Level
Parrots’ intelligence has improved their lifespans in the following ways:
Outsmarting Competition
Parrots have complex brains that function similarly to humans.
Researchers at the University of Alberta sought to determine if parrots have large pontine nuclei. This neural highway connects the cortex (sensory information) with the cerebellum (motor function).
This part of the brain is among the reasons human and primates’ brains are so complex.
Parrots have an enlarged medial spiriform nucleus. This circuit is present in birds but missing in mammals. It serves the same function as the pontine nuclei.
Parrots have a larger medial spiriform nucleus than other birds, enabling them to outsmart most animal species. Being smarter means parrots can:
- Find food and water sooner.
- Establish new territories.
- Avoid accidents.
- Sense danger.
- Alert flockmates.
Predator Avoidance
Parrots’ intelligence allows them to avoid predators more successfully than most other birds.
Parrots are prey animals, so other dangerous animals want to eat them to aid their survival. Their ability to sense and react to danger keeps them alive longer than other birds.
Outperformance
Flying requires significant energy, but parrots have this due to their fast metabolism. Their high metabolic rate means they can often escape many airborne predators when flying.
Eagles and bats can fly up to 125 and 200 miles without stopping, while parrots can fly for 230 miles, not including gliding. However, parrots are vulnerable to the speed and agility of raptors.
Their intelligence led to superior survival tactics, allowing parrots to live longer than other birds.
Parrots Longevity in Captivity vs. The Wild
Most estimates of how long parrots live in the wild are based on outdated studies from when the environment was entirely different. On average, captive parrots live much longer lives.
Why Some Parrots Thrive in The Wild
Some experts believe that parrots are better off living in the wild for the following reasons:
Social Aspect
According to the University of Veterinary Medicine, social isolation shortens the lifespan of African grays.
Wild parrots live in flocks because they’re highly social and hate isolation. While some people have several avian companions, most parrots are kept alone.
Parrots require social interaction. First-time owners who get several parrots discover that raising a single bird can be challenging, so they often keep one parrot.
Parrots enjoy the company of humans. However, some owners believe parrots are like other pets and leave them alone most of the day. This results in stress, shortening their lifespan.
Unsuitable Diet
Wild parrots, especially those that have found bountiful land, have a varied diet. Their diet includes grasses, vegetation, fruits, nuts, and vegetables, which contain antioxidants that reduce oxidative stress.
Pellets can’t replace the diet that parrots benefit from in the wild. Many pellet brands advertise themselves as providing a complete diet, but this is seldom true.
Stress
Many animals, like snakes, bats, jaguars, monkeys, and hawks, prey on parrots. They stay on high alert when detecting sudden noises and movements.
Stress from sudden movements, noises, and flashing lights can harm a parrot’s health. It’s common for pet parrots, especially cockatiels, to experience night frights.
No animal is equipped to be stressed for long periods. Unfortunately, parts of human life can adversely disrupt a parrot’s mental state, including:
- Children.
- Other pets.
- Cars.
- Fireworks.
- Vacuum cleaners.
- Blow dryers.
- TV and radio.
- Roadworks.
- Traffic.
Rehoming
Parrots are regularly rehomed. Owners don’t expect to make such commitments when raising and caring for parrots. Sadly, some parrots have 7-11 owners in their lifetime.
Hardiness
A life of adversity shapes parrots into survivors. In contrast to domestic pets, wild parrots:
- Get more exercise.
- Fly long distances.
- Encounter dangerous situations.
- Cope with extreme weather conditions.
This results in wild parrots being stronger and more resilient than captive birds. Consequently, a pet parrot released into the wild wouldn’t be equipped to survive.
Do Parrots Live Better In Captivity?
Humans have kept parrots as pets since 1504, which has enabled us to study how long parrots can live in captivity. We can also see the benefits that humans can provide:
Better Care
Pet parrots have access to veterinary care that’s unavailable to wild birds.
Healthy parrots can survive injuries and illnesses in the great outdoors, but many die. Pet parrots needn’t endure most illnesses for extended periods, thus extending their life.
Less Hardship
There are more dangers associated with the outdoors than captivity. Due to their popularity as pets, thousands of parrots are smuggled illegally into the U.S., with some dying in transit.
The parrots that survive live a life of trauma-induced self-mutilation and destructive behavior.
Also, deforestation and expanding human populations drive wild parrots out of their natural home and into unknown, potentially dangerous territories.
Less Oxidative Stress
The more active a parrot is and the more food it consumes, the harder its metabolism must work. This increases the number of free radicals and accelerates the aging process.
Reproduction is an activity that takes a heavy toll on female parrots. Owners commonly discourage breeding behavior in female birds.
More Fun
Parrots enjoy playful behaviors like many other clever animals.
Wild parrots play with each other and have fun doing so. However, it’s nothing compared to the brain-stimulating games pet parrots can engage in with humans, including:
The increased brain activity and enjoyment reduce stress, increasing their life expectancy.
How Long Parrots Live
The lifespan of a parrot depends on the following factors:
- Species.
- Genetics.
- Health.
- Level of care.
- Quality of food.
- Dietary diversity.
- Enrichment.
- Socialization.
All things being equal, larger parrots live longer than smaller birds.
