The birds in our gardens or local parks can feel like old friends after a while. It may seem as if we're seeing the same individuals year after; year-and that may be true because often they stay faithful to their home territory. But it can lead us to wonder: How long do these birds live? That question can be surprisingly hard to answer.
Cushy Cage Life
After a bird reaches its adult plumage, it's impossible to tell how old it is just by looking at it. But some zoos and aviaries keep records of individual birds, which means we can track their ages. One example: A pink cockatoo (a type of Australian parrot) arrived at the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago in 1934. When he died in 2016, he was at least 83 years old. It's also been claimed that some other parrots, especially large ones like cockatoos and macaws, have reached over 100 years old. Some probably have, but it's difficult to be sure without complete documentation.
Birds in good zoos, protected from predators and with access to veterinary care, may live longer than those in the wild. Aside from large parrots, some other zoo birds that have lived more than 60 years include flamingos and Andean condors.
Life in the Wild
Denne historien er fra February/March 2024-utgaven av Birds & Blooms.
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Denne historien er fra February/March 2024-utgaven av Birds & Blooms.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Sense or Nonsense? - Why some birds can taste and smell - but others can't
Does a porcelain berry taste like a blueberry to a gray catbird? Does a block of lard smell like frying bacon to a northern flicker? The short answer is no. While some avian species do have a well-adapted sense of taste or smell, they can't distinguish between flavors and odors the way humans can. They're not picking up every ingredient in the suet you put out, says José Ramírez-Garofalo, an ornithology researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey and the director of Freshkills Biological Station in Staten Island, New York.
Maple Mania - Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
Food-Focused and Fierce - Meet Canada jays and learn why they eat almost anything they can find
Even if you haven't heard of Canada jays, you've heard of their relatives. Members of the corvid family, they belong to the same group as American crows, blackbilled magpies, and jays including blue, Steller's and scrub. "Unlike many of the other jays, a Canada jay doesn't have a crest of any kind; it just has a rounded head," says Dale Gentry, director of conservation for Audubon Upper Mississippi River.In 2018, the Canada jay's name was changed from gray jay, but Dale thinks the former adjective was fitting. "Most of its body is shades of gray with some white," he says. "There are different subspecies that have different physical traits, but most of them have some lighter coloring on their foreheads, upper breasts and throats, each with a darker streak that starts at each eye and goes back."
IN GOOD COMPANY
BIRDS OF A FEATHER MAY FLOCK TOGETHER, but what about other collectives of critters-and what do you call them when they do?
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