AnAge entry for Aves

Classification (HAGRID: 00189)

Observations: Birds tend to be longer-lived than size-equivalent animals from other classes [0405] (two-three times longer than mammals of the same size [1275]). Nonetheless, there are no confirmed reports of birds with negligible senescence or animals living over 100 years. This is because a large number of longevity records in birds come from banding studies in the wild, though, many longevity records may be underestimated. Males are generally longer-lived than females. As observed in other taxa, developmental schedules correlate strongly with longevity, yet metabolic rates do not correlate with longevity [0859]. High metabolic rate is predicted to be a liability in other classes, yet birds have generally high metabolic rates [1276].

[1275] Travin and Feniouk (2016), Aging in Birds (PubMed)
[1146] Tristan (2010), The aging raptor (PubMed)
[0859] de Magalhaes et al. (2007), An analysis of the relationship between metabolism, developmental schedules, and longevity using phylogenetic independent contrasts (PubMed)
[1147] Rothschild and Panza (2006), Osteoarthritis is for the birds (PubMed)
[0062] Holmes and Ottinger (2003), Birds as long-lived animal models for the study of aging (PubMed)
[1276] Holmes et al. (2001), Comparative biology of aging in birds: an update (PubMed)
[0405] Holmes and Austad (1995), Birds as animal models for the comparative biology of aging: a prospectus (PubMed)
[0444] John Terres (1980), The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds
[0445] The Birds of North America Online