
Due to their long lifespan, their maximum age can vary considerably, but it is believed that a healthy captive green wing macaw can reach some 50-60 years of age. The green wing macaw is considered one of the longest-lived parrots of all. Most specimens reach a ripe old age of 40-50 years old, though there are stories of some cockatoos growing to be over 100 years of age. Cockatoo LifespansĬockatoos are a highly-varied group of parrots, with some specimens much larger than others. While this macaw has a potential lifespan of around 50 years, in reality they more regularly live for some 30-35 years as pets.

While macaws may have developed a reputation for being some of the longest-lived birds in the world, the reality for the blue and gold macaw can be rather different. Birds of this group can routinely reach ages of some 60 years when well cared-for in captivity. Of a similar size to African grey parrots, the various closely-related green parrots grouped together under the umbrella “Amazon parrots” tend to be rather longer-lived than their African counterpart. That said, specimens have been known to live for over 70 years, and it is not unheard of for African greys to pass through two or even three generations of owners over the years. Generally speaking, African grey parrots can be expected to live for some 40-60 years in captivity. African Grey Parrot LifespanĬontrary to popular opinion, while undoubtedly long-lived birds, African grey parrots very rarely live for a century or more as some would have you believe. In terms of lifespan, eclectus parrots can be expected to live for around 30 years in captivity. The stunningly coloured eclectus parrot is one of the most obviously sexually-dimorphic parrots, the sexes easily being told apart by either their deep crimson or bright green plumage. While slightly larger than conures, the Senegal Parrot is known to live for roughly the same period of time – around 25-30 years on average. In general, conures tend to live for some 25-30 years on average, though some smaller members of the conure family may reach just 15-20 years eventually. We gathered some rough lifespan estimates for a range of different parrot species to give you a more accurate impression below… Individual Parrot Lifespans Conure LifespansĪs one of the smaller “true parrots” seen in the pet trade it should be of little surprise that these stunning little birds live longer than budgies or cockatiels but considerably less than larger members of the family. It may live to be twice as old as a parakeet, or perhaps even longer.


Thus, a large macaw may live several times as long as a budgie. Indeed, one of the clearest rules when it comes to how long parrots live is that the larger the species, the longer a parrot it likely to live on average. Indeed, the answer to how long parrots live is even affected by how one defines a “parrot” – in theory this group could include smaller birds such as budgerigars and cockatiels, which would help to bring the average lifespan down. What is more, a bird’s lifestyle can have a significant impact on its longevity in most cases captive birds will significantly outlive their wild counterparts thanks to advanced levels of veterinary care and the elimination of predators. Parrots as a group are quite long-lived birds, but there is a huge amount of diversity within the group.
