bird longevity...v. interesting piece

In response to a question from a relative about songbird longevity, I found this:  http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/How_Long.html

Key sentence in the above is that tho' the above lists apparent maximum life spans, and for songbirds it's generally 3-15 (which was my guess), the average life span of a songbird is probably one or two years.

Cripes. No wonder they always look like they're in such a hurry.

the biobabbler