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Up until the time in history that birds had been captured, banded and released on a grand scale for many years, our only information on their ages came from captive birds. I wanted to know better how long birds live in the wild, however, and to that end l read much and pondered the question.
Thus, 1 found in my research from one book to be mentioned later, that birds can live a long time indeed when they escape from predation and a constant search, and fight, for food are not a problem.
All wild native birds are now protected by Federal Law; it is illegal to keep them in captivity except for scientific study. Cardinals were popular cage birds until well into the 20th century. A caged Cardinal ; is on record as living for 28 1/2 • years whereas in the wild the ■ extreme upper longevity record is 13 years.
Mockingbirds were also popular cage birds and Thomas Jefferson had one at Monticello that sang lustily for 15 years. In this rare case, ; wild birds have also been known, ; from banding, to live 15 years. This is an exception; but then, a Mockingbird is an aggressive survivor. It would seem natural for a Goldfinch to be in demand as a caged bird for they are often referred to as “wild canaries.” One is on record as living in captivity nearly 10 years. %
Bluebirds have captured our hearts, and we put up nest boxes so that these handsome birds will stay around our homes. Many Bluebirds
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