The Lifespan Of Macaw Parrot In Wild and Captivity

The lifespan of a macaw parrot is about 30 to 50 years; the larger the macaw, the longer the life span. It depends on many factors including where they live, and the type of care they are taking. Let’s discover the wide variety of macaw parrots and how long you can expect one to live if you invite into your home. Some macaw parrots live in captivity whereas others live in the wild.

The lifespan of a wild macaw parrot

The lifespan of a wild macaw parrot is much shorter. This is because of a number of factors. First, bigger birds and other wild animals often prey on these birds. For most birds, living in the wild is a difficult situation, and their main activity is survival. Many of these macaw parrots have had to change their natural habitats because of society moving further into their territory. As a result of it, they have a smaller area for hunting and daily living. Their resources have become more scarce over time.

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The lifespan of macaw parrot in captivity

A macaw parrot living in captivity can live as long as many humans. But they have many subspecies. Some of the smaller subspecies do not live as long as the larger ones. They are still able to live longer than other pets e.g cats and dogs. If you’re looking to bring a macaw to your house for 25 to 60 years you should expect him to be around everywhere.

The Various Sub-species and Their Lifespans

Glaucous, Hyacinth, and Lear’s macaw lifespan: The glaucous macaw parrots are a rare macaw parrot. They live in this world for around 14 to 25 years in the wild whereas close to 25 years in captivity. Because they are so rare, their lifespan hasn’t been well recorded so they can live for as long as 50 years, which is the average for larger parrots. The hyacinth macaw parrot is the largest of the macaw family. They live an average of 50 years in the wild and can live to be over 60 years in captivity. The Lears macaw can live an average lifespan of 30 years, while in captivity it is natural to reach the age of 60.

Glaucous.Hyacinth and Lear's macaw
Glaucous, Hyacinth and Lear’s macaw

Blue-and-yellow and Green-winged macaw lifespan: Blue and gold macaw parrots live 30 years on average in wild. But they have a longer lifespan in captivity. They can live in captivity with proper care between the ages of 50 to 60. The green-winged macaw is the second largest of the macaw parrot species. Those living in the wild reach an age of about 30 years. In captivity, however, it is not unusual for them to live to be over 70 years old.

Blue-and-yellow and Green-winged macaw
Blue-and-yellow and Green-winged macaw

Blue-throated and Scarlet macaw lifespan: Blue-throated macaw hasn’t been studied in their natural habitat for very long so there is no data on how long they live in the wild. In captivity, they normally live to be somewhere between 40 and 50 years old, with the average age being 45. Scarlet macaw’s high-pitched scream makes it one of the loudest of the macaw family. They can live close to 40 years in the wild and have been known to live for as long as 70 years in captivity. On average, however, they usually reach about 50.

Blue-throated and Scarlet macaw
The blue-throated and Scarlet macaw

Military, Red-fronted, and Chestnut-fronted macaw lifespan: The Military macaw is most often bred rather than captured. They can live around 56 to 70 years in captivity but their wildlife has not been established. Red-fronted will probably live longer in the wild than in captivity. Macaw parrot lives about 25 years in captivity whereas around 50 years in the wild. Chestnut-fronted macaws are some of the best talkers of the macaw family. In either the wild or captivity, they can live anywhere from 30 to 60 years.

 Military, Red-fronted and Chestnut-fronted macaw
Military, Red-fronted, and Chestnut-fronted macaw

Cuban, Spix’s, and Great green macaw lifespan: Cuban macaw is a member of the macaw family is now extinct. Spix’smacaw a bluebird can live up to 28 years in the wild whereas 40 years in captivity. Great green macaws can reach up to 60 years in captivity. In the wild, they are considered endangered species and many do not make it past the age of 10 years.

Cuban, Spix's and Great green macaw
Cuban, Spix’s, and Great green macaw

Saint Croix and Lesser Antillean macaw lifespan: While in captivity, Saint Croix macaw normally lived 50 years but they are now thought to be completely extinct. There is no lifespan data on the Lesser Antillean macaw parrot. It is what scientists consider to be a hypothetical extinct bird. There have been no recorded sightings of this bird since a long time ago.

 Saint Croix and Lesser Antillean macaw
Saint Croix and Lesser Antillean macaw

Red-bellied and Blue-headed macaw lifespan: In the wild, this Red-bellied macaw lives between 15 and 20 years whereas in captivity, they can live around 30 and 40 years. The smaller Blue-headed macaw parrot breed is becoming hard to find in the wild and many of the species don’t reach the age of 10. Whether, in captivity, they often live around 20 or 30 years.

Red-bellied and Blue-headed macaw
Red-bellied and Blue-headed macaw

Golden-collared, Hahn’s, and Noble macaw lifespan: The Golden-collared macaw parrot normally reaches around 20 and 30 years of age in the wild. In captivity, the expected lifespan is between 40 and 50 years old. These popular Hahn’s macaw parrots live about 30 years in the wild. If cared for properly in captivity, they can live around 50 years. Whether, in the wild or captivity, these smaller Noble macaws live between 25 and 30 years.

Golden-collared, Hahn's and Noble macaw
Golden-collared, Hahn’s and Noblemacaw

Final Words

In short, macaw parrots are some of the most popular pet birds. By this time, unfortunately, this popularity has created the extinction of some of the wild subspecies. As you know, there are many subspecies of macaw parrots and all live for many years. They are likely to live longer than most cats and dogs. Therefore, these birds can be wonderful companions. But one thing you should keep in mind is that you have to put a lot of time and effort to make them happy and healthy. As they are very popular pets and their illegal capture resulted in many flocks becoming extinct.

Also Read: Characteristics Of Fish Makes Them Good As A Pet