Parrot Lifecycle How Long Do Parrots Live ?

The various species of parrot share many traits. The following paragraphs give a broad overview of what you can expect to encounter in the various life stages of your pet birds. Some species will have quirks not covered here, but in general the pattern outlined below applies to all types of parrot.

In the wild, most species of parrot lay their eggs in tree hollows. The parent birds share incubation duties. Like all birds reared in a nest, parrot hatchlings are naked and blind, their one instinct being to raise their heads and gape when they hear the parent bird return. Parrots regurgitate food for their young – a highly efficient way of dealing with insatiable appetites, allowing the birds to carry a large amount of food in their crops, rather than just a beakful.
In the wild a parrot will rarely make it beyond 30 years. In captivity, however, some of the bigger species (and the not-so-large, in the case of the African Grey), can live between 60 and 90 years. As many people choose their first bird in adulthood, it follows that long-lived birds will frequently outlive their original owners.