How old are the birds that visit your yard? Without gray feathers or other telltale signs of aging, it is almost impossible to visually determine a bird’s age.
Some of your birds may be quite old. The oldest-known wild bird is Wisdom, a 74 year old Laysan Albatross who has laid 50 to 60 eggs over her lifetime. First banded in 1956 at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, she looks as spry as her new, younger partner, despite having flown over 3 million miles. Wisdom is still going strong: she recently returned to Midway and laid another egg. Individual birds of other species also have demonstrated longevity, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS) which maintains records from the North American Bird Banding Program (26 years for a Blue Jay!).
Species that have shorter lifespans tend to live life faster – they are smaller species which have more and fast-maturing chicks. Individuals of any species who live into old age are usually quite fit since they survived predation and other non-age-related challenges, and their long lives provide more opportunities to pass down their good genes. Researchers are trying to understand the underlying mechanisms that ward off senescence, including immune responses and changes at the cellular and molecular level.