How do birds live? 

Birds are such beautiful creatures of nature that every birder wants to know their characteristics and the way they live. In today’s article, we are going to explore some cool features and facts about the living patterns of birds. What do they prefer and what they don’t like? We will be focusing on an overall view of ” How do birds live?” 

How long can birds live? 

To estimate the lifespan of the birds is not an easy task. I was following a bird from the point where it is born until its death is not a bed of roses to do. So, many methods are used for establishing an estimate of the bird’s lives. Both direct and indirect methods are used. The immediate process involves capturing a bird and then banding it and then to capture it again for its life estimation. 

Higher mortality rates have been observed in young baby birds who do not have much experience of flying and saving themselves from predators. Many adults can also die even when they have crossed that young age. So the overall rate of death remains average throughout the year. 

How do birds live? In simple words, many birds die at a young age, while others who are older may die due to inherent risks that remain consistent for the overall year. 

The death expectancy rate of songbirds in urban areas is up to 70%, whereas, in tropical regions, the same birds have been observed to live a longer life.

In royal albatross, the fife death expectancy rate is over 30 years. Even if a bird survives one year, its risk of death goes up in the next year. After 19 years, common terns reach their old age, and ultimately, after that, their annual chance to die increases. 

Size plays a very significant role in the life duration of birds. Larger the size of the bird, more are chances that it will have a long life. Similarly, a small-sized bird will have a shorter life span. But still, you cannot make an exact estimate about the life of any bird because some birds like albatrosses, tubenoses and petrels, shorebirds, terns, and auks may have very long lives as compared to their size. Similarly, on the other hand, birds like game birds, chickadees, titmice, wrens have even shorter lives than their capacities.

 How do birds live? Birds in your home or captivation, are found to live longer lives. Once upon a time in a Zoo, a bird called sulfur- crested Cockatoo lived almost 80 plus years. In Canada, a captivated geese lived for thirty-three years. Similarly, house sparrows in captivation lived for twenty-three years. When these species are in their natural habitats, their life span is shorter due to a more significant number of risks like predators, diseases, the lack of food. 

Recent researches about seabirds have shown that their life span will increase in the coming times. 

Where do birds live? 

Being a birder, I am curious about almost all the factors connected to birds. We often ponder, “where do birds live?” Nature’s beauty is everywhere; it should be us to look around and explore. 

A dedicated group of people in Alameda county spend almost a decade. They marked birds will inhabit every park, woodland, and any place that you can imagine.

The result of their efforts resulted in a comprehensive book that guides you about different 175 species of birds inhabiting the Alameda. These birders are from Alameda, and their efforts were so that they can estimate the health of the bird, the population in the county. 

The guideline contains all necessary information and even maps that tell you about the different locations at which birds are most likely to inhabit and make their homes.

Let’s take a general look at “how do birds live?” Young birds develop in the nest. Nests are built at a place high enough from the ground and contain a lot of hash and stuff; we may think that birds spend all their lives in the nest while that is not the case. The den just plays a temporary role in the bird’s life. It acts as a nursing home. Many birds use their nest only for once, but species may keep on adding the stuff to the same nest. 

How do birds live? Each species selects very keenly the place where they live. The nest is made at home that is close to food resources and should be away from the reach of predators. That nest is what we call as the habitat of the bird. A songbird called meadowlark builds its nest in the ground and likes a fence in the perch where it loves to sing. You will never find this type of nest in a wooded area. So if you ever found a bird home in a tree or near a river under the bridge, it will not belong to this bird. 

On the other hand, the wren is a very intelligent species of birds. It built its home in a birdhouse, in the tree, or even in a coat pocket that you may forget in the garden store. 

Other birds build their nests on the lower branches of a tree. While the eagles and the hawks prefer the higher places of the tree to build their nests, some birds like owls prefer their nests to be in a shaded area like a cave or a tree hole while other birds love to have their nest on a single tree branch which is easily visible. 

How do birds live? It is necessary to be aware of their habitats and their habits only then you can look for them in the right places. You can change the habitat, and ultimately you can control the bird’s species. For example, when you introduce a new plant which contains a lot of shrubs and berries. But if you take out the necessary things like food, shelter, and the places for nesting, you are destroying the habitat of the birds, and they will leave if they do not find these proper food resources. 

How do birds survive the winter? 

How do birds live? We all are aware that most of the bird species fly away from the colder areas to find places that are warmer and humid. The main target point of all of the migratory birds is the tropical area of the earth. 

Their effort to leave their homes and traveling long distances twice a year indicates this fact that it is their necessary need to migrate so that they can avoid the freezing temperatures and storms. 

But some species of the birds excellently hold and face this chilling weather. They grab our attention because they have to face two situations simultaneously. How do birds live?

The first situation that they have to maintain is they have to keep their r body temperature high. In birds, the average temperature should be 105F. 

How do birds live? The birds don’t permanently live in the nests. Nests are just temporary places where they take care of their young ones and nest them. Nests are necessary because there are no other options for delivering the young ones and preparing them for flight.  

Most birds work on a simple rule; they minimize the calories they use the whole day, and they ingest maximum calories for high body temperatures.

How do birds live? Do birds live in nests? 

How do birds live? The birds don’t permanently live in the nests. Nests are just temporary places where they take care of their young ones and nest them. Nests are necessary because there are no other options for delivering the young ones and to prepare them for flight. 

As the chicklings grow in the nest, both the parents take care of them. The location and shapes of the nests can vary depending upon the personalities and the specific species of the birds. However, when they grow up, they leave the nest.  Some species may reuse the nest while others only use it once.

How do birds live? Birds live in different kinds of habitats. They can be forests, parks, woodlands, a place near the river, deserts, tundras, etc. Many birds don’t leave their homes for many periods, while others have to migrate when winter approaches to live at a warmer place so that they can survive.

Questions and answers 

What birds live in the desert? 

Bird’s habitats are diverse, and they live according to their species. The most common desert bird species are:

• Greater roadrunner
• Cactus wren
• Lucifer hummingbird
• Verdin
• Indigo bunting
• Ferruginous pygmy owl
• Hwamei
• Gila woodpecker
• Rosy-faced lovebirds 
• Pintail sandgrouse
• Burrowing owl
• Phainopepla
• Elf owl
• Costa’s hummingbird 
• Gambel’s quail

What birds live the longest? 

How do birds live? The lifespan of the birds depends upon their size. Larger birds live more. For example, Macaw’s average life is 50 gears, but they can even live more. Some are also found to have lived for more than 100 years. The world’s longest-living bird (in captivity) has been observed in a zoo called Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo. It is now 77 years old. 

What birds live in Antarctica?

Though Antarctica is a freezing place to live and it does not have much diversity of living organisms there. You might be amazed to know that there are no spiders in Antarctica. However, there are 46 known species of the birds which are inhabiting Antarctica. Some of the species are:

• Petrels
• Shearwaters
• Albatrosses
• Storm- petrels
• Diving petrels
• Cormorants
• Bitterns
• Herons
• Egrets
• Ducks
• Swans
• Geese
• Sheathbills
• Skuas
• Jaegers
• Gulls 
• Turns

All of the species mentioned above are inhabitants of Antarctica. All of these species can bear the cold of the continent because of insulating feathers. Below the insulating feathers, there are waterproof feathers that further protect their body heat.

What birds are present in Africa?

Africa is home to several species of the animals and is rich in biodiversity. Hence it contains many varieties of the bird species. The world’s most giant bird which is the ostrich is abundantly present in this continent. Further bird species are mentioned below:

• Ostrich
• Malachite kingfisher
• Lilac-breasted roller
• Yellow-billed hornbill
• Flamingo
• Saddle-billed stork
• Kori bustard
• Grey-crowned crane
• Secretary bird
• African masked weaver
• African fish eagle
• Southern ground hornbill
• Collared Sunbird
• Jackass penguin
• Sacred Ibis
• Little bee-eater
• Red-billed hornbill
• Red and yellow barbet
• Crowned plover
• Yellow-billed stork
• Helmeted guinea fowl
• Marabou stork

How long do birds live in the wild?

In the wild, the lifespan of the birds is much shorter than the lifespan in captivation. Predators, scarce foods, harsh climate, and much more are among the several reasons for the bird’s death. How do birds live? Many young ones die during the flight learning process. While in captivation, birds are provided with every necessary care they need and with enough food resources to nurture fully. Therefore the lifespan of a bird in the zoo was 77 years. Macaw parrots can live for up to 100 years in captivation.