Birds of Prey Longevity and Causes of Death A. Longevity. Little is known about the longevity of diurnal birds of prey in the wild.
More complete records exist for birds in zoological parks.
In general, small falcons and Accipiter hawks live about 15 years. B. Aging studies. Recovering dead birds in the wild is a difficult task because carcasses are hard to locate and are quickly eaten. Most longevity studies take place on captive birds. Diurnal birds of prey are often victim to other, larger birds of prey, including owls.