How old can a wild bird get? Record ages for 719 species

Which wild birds have lived the longest?

The oldest records in the table, each the oldest known bird of its species:

1. Laysan Albatross: at least 71 years and 9 months. Banded in Oceania (incl. Hawaii) in 1956, found again there in 2022.
2. Black-footed Albatross: at least 62 years and 10 months. Banded in Oceania (incl. Hawaii) in 1964, found again there in 2021.
3. American Flamingo: at least 49 years and 1 month. Banded in the Bahama Islands in 1970, found again there in 2019.
4. Gray-headed Albatross: at least 47 years and 2 months. Banded in Antarctica in 1963, found again in Oceania (incl. Hawaii) in 2010.
5. Black-browed Albatross: at least 44 years. Banded in Antarctica in 1962, found again there in 2006.
6. Great Frigatebird: at least 43 years. Banded in Oceania (incl. Hawaii) in 1963, found again there in 2006.
7. Common Murre: at least 40 years and 6 months. Banded in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1981, found again there in 2022.
8. Wandering Albatross (an older species, since split): at least 40 years. Banded in Antarctica in 1961, found again there in 2000.
9. Southern Giant-Petrel: at least 39 years and 10 months. Banded in Antarctica in 1984, found again there in 2023.
10. Bald Eagle: at least 38 years. Banded in New York in 1977, found again there in 2015.
11. Sandhill Crane: at least 38 years. Banded in Florida in 1982, found again in Wisconsin in 2019.

Wisdom, the oldest known wild bird

The Laysan Albatross record belongs to Wisdom, the USGS notes say. She was banded in December 1956, and the table counts her age up to a sighting in November 2022. In April 2026 the US Fish and Wildlife Service called her the world's “oldest known wild bird, at an approximate age of 75,” and estimated that 30 of her chicks have fledged. She is one of the Laysan Albatrosses of Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

How old do backyard birds get?

Of these 20 familiar backyard birds, the Mourning Dove has the oldest record, at least 30 years and 4 months, followed by the Blue Jay at 26 years and 11 months. Of the 20, 17 have records of 10 years or more.

These are records, not typical lives. For how long birds live on average, see How long do wild birds live?

Which kinds of birds live longest?

The groups differ widely. Half of the 7 albatross records are 44 years or more, against 9 years for the 336 songbirds and other perching birds. Among the 16 hummingbirds, the oldest record is a Broad-tailed Hummingbird's: at least 12 years and 2 months.

What does a record age mean?

Each record is one bird: the oldest known individual of its species in the reports that banders and members of the public sent to the North American Bird Banding Program, checked by the Bird Banding Laboratory’s biologists. Bird banding means fitting a wild bird with a small numbered band, usually on its leg, and letting it go; when the bird is caught, seen or found again, the number says who it is.

The age is a minimum. The bird’s age when it was banded tells the USGS the year it hatched, or the latest year it could have hatched. For most North American species the USGS then assumes a June hatching date and counts to the day the bird was found again. So a bird banded as an adult was already older than its record shows.

A record can’t be longer than the time people have studied the species, the USGS notes, and for some species the bands don’t last as long as the birds. The table holds only what was reported to the program, not every record in the world. It leaves out vagrants and birds raised in captivity or rehabilitated, and the Bird Banding Laboratory doesn’t issue bands for some North American birds, such as upland game birds and condors. That’s why there’s no Wild Turkey here.

466 of the 719 records come from birds that were still alive when they were found again, so those birds may have lived longer.

A record is not a typical lifespan: it is the oldest bird that anyone banded and found again. Our guide How long do wild birds live? has the averages.

Why do some names differ from the USGS table?

The USGS table uses the bird names of its day. We matched each record to today's species in AviList v2025b, the global checklist of the world's birds, by its scientific name, and show today's North American English names. 19 records have a different English name today, and 16 more only a different scientific name, after a move to another genus or a change of spelling. Each row with a new English name shows the USGS name under it.

Five records belong to species that have since been split, and their region can’t tell us which of today’s species the bird was. They keep the USGS name:

• Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans): AviList v2025b calls Diomedea exulans the Snowy Albatross and lists the Tristan Albatross, the Antipodean Albatross and the Amsterdam Albatross as separate species. The record's region, Antarctica, can't tell us which of them this bird was, so it keeps the USGS name.
• White Tern (Gygis alba): AviList v2025b calls Gygis alba the Atlantic White-Tern and lists the Blue-billed White-Tern and the Little White-Tern as separate species. The record's region, Oceania (including Hawaii), Australia, New Zealand and Philippines, can't tell us which of them this bird was, so it keeps the USGS name.
• Collared Kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris): AviList v2025b calls Todiramphus chloris the Collared Kingfisher and lists the Pacific Kingfisher and the Mariana Kingfisher as separate species. The record's region, Oceania (including Hawaii), Australia, New Zealand and Philippines, can't tell us which of them this bird was, so it keeps the USGS name.
• Wattled Honeyeater (Foulehaio carunculatus): AviList v2025b calls Foulehaio carunculatus the Eastern Wattled-Honeyeater and lists the Western Wattled-Honeyeater and the Northern Wattled-Honeyeater as separate species. The record's region, Oceania (including Hawaii), Australia, New Zealand and Philippines, can't tell us which of them this bird was, so it keeps the USGS name.
• Rufous Fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons): AviList v2025b calls Rhipidura rufifrons the Australian Rufous Fantail and lists the Micronesian Rufous Fantail and the Solomons Rufous Fantail as separate species. The record's region, Oceania (including Hawaii), Australia, New Zealand and Philippines, can't tell us which of them this bird was, so it keeps the USGS name.

Two USGS species are now one: Common Redpoll and Hoary Redpoll are both today’s Redpoll, so the table lists two Redpoll records.