It would be extremely difficult to answer this question without the kind of banding records that long-term banding operations generate. By banding and recapturing birds, CCRS can contribute to the greater understanding of how long birds live. The data we have collected over the past 10 years helps us measure the life expectancy of individual birds in the wild. This differs from longevity, which refers to the natural or potential life span of a bird if it is not killed by predators or disease.
Life expectancy is, therefore, much shorter than a bird's potential longevity.
There are several factors that contribute to a bird's life expectancy. However, if a young bird can survive accidents, disease, predation, migration, and winter starvation, it may live a surprisingly long time. Recent studies of seabirds in Southern California indicate that Laysan Albatrosses may live 50-70 years in the wild. Longevity is the term that describes a bird's potential life span. It is often demonstrated by captive birds that have died of old age rather than disease or predation.