Do Parrots Really Live a Human Lifetime?

Nature · Published 10 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Captive records give one Cacatua moluccensis a recorded 92 years and give average zoo lifespans for named parrot species, while wild parrots offer survival rates rather than verified ages.

A 1:31 short film in the series “Nature: How Long Can It Live?”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.

Sources used in this film: Animal Conservation (Wiley), via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine), “Survival on the ark: life history trends in captive parrots”; Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR), AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Genomics of Ageing and Rejuvenation Lab, “Parrots (Psittaciformes) longevity, ageing, and life history”; Cambridge University Press (Bird Conservation International, BirdLife International); article by Mick N. Clout and Don V. Merton, 1998, “Saving the Kakapo: the conservation of the world's most peculiar parrot | Bird Conservation International | Cambridge Core”; Texas A&M University, Tambopata Macaw Project (paper by Donald J. Brightsmith, Duke University, 2006), “The psittacine year: determinants of annual life history patterns in parrots in Tambopata, Peru”; Biological Conservation (Elsevier); authors Brightsmith et al. 2005, hosted by Texas A&M University Macaw Project, “doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2004.05.016”; Proceedings of the Royal Society B (The Royal Society), via PubMed Central / U.S. National Library of Medicine, “Coevolution of relative brain size and life expectancy in parrots”; Smeele et al. (Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and co-authors), bioRxiv preprint (not peer reviewed), posted 2 January 2022, hosted by the Wright Lab, New Mexico State University, “Coevolution of relative brain size and life expectancy in parrots”; Animal Conservation (The Zoological Society of London); Young, Hobson, Bingaman Lackey & Wright, 2011, hosted by the New Mexico State University Wright Lab, “Survival on the ark: lifehistory trends in captive parrots”; ScienceDaily (press release from Max-Planck-Gesellschaft), “Unravelling the mystery of parrot longevity”; University of East Anglia (UEA Digital Repository); accepted manuscript of Jiménez-Ortega et al., 'Long life evolves in large brained bird lineages', Evolution, doi:10.1111/evo.14087, “Long life evolves in large brained bird lineages”.

Sources used in this film

• Animal Conservation (Wiley), via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine) — Survival on the ark: life history trends in captive parrots · View →
• Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR), AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Genomics of Ageing and Rejuvenation Lab — Parrots (Psittaciformes) longevity, ageing, and life history · View →
• Cambridge University Press (Bird Conservation International, BirdLife International); article by Mick N. Clout and Don V. Merton, 1998 — Saving the Kakapo: the conservation of the world's most peculiar parrot | Bird Conservation International | Cambridge Core · View →
• Texas A&M University, Tambopata Macaw Project (paper by Donald J. Brightsmith, Duke University, 2006) — The psittacine year: determinants of annual life history patterns in parrots in Tambopata, Peru · View →
• Biological Conservation (Elsevier); authors Brightsmith et al. 2005, hosted by Texas A&M University Macaw Project — doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2004.05.016 · View →
• Proceedings of the Royal Society B (The Royal Society), via PubMed Central / U.S. National Library of Medicine — Coevolution of relative brain size and life expectancy in parrots · View →
• Smeele et al. (Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and co-authors), bioRxiv preprint (not peer reviewed), posted 2 January 2022, hosted by the Wright Lab, New Mexico State University — Coevolution of relative brain size and life expectancy in parrots · View →
• Animal Conservation (The Zoological Society of London); Young, Hobson, Bingaman Lackey & Wright, 2011, hosted by the New Mexico State University Wright Lab — Survival on the ark: lifehistory trends in captive parrots · View →
• ScienceDaily (press release from Max-Planck-Gesellschaft) — Unravelling the mystery of parrot longevity · View →
• University of East Anglia (UEA Digital Repository); accepted manuscript of Jiménez-Ortega et al., 'Long life evolves in large brained bird lineages', Evolution, doi:10.1111/evo.14087 — Long life evolves in large brained bird lineages · View →

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