how long can a cockatiel be expected to survive outside

[Pie]

a local has lost their bird on sunday at 11am. i found the cockatiel by playing calls from youtube, but the poor thing instead of coming to me, flew away. this happened at night, and i couldn't see the bird itself and we have now lost it completely. that seems to have been the only sighting of the bird as of now. it is now tuesday 3am, and i am planning to go outside again to look if i can find it.
am i chasing ghosts, or does the poor thing still have a chance it has survived the day if it managed to dodge predators? the weather has been quite cold, anywhere between 0-3 celsius. water is plentiful.

 

[Pie]

oh, and the reason i am going outside to look for it at night is simply because i think i have a better chance finding the bird via sound, and nobody is around to cloud any of it at night. it actively answered back to the calls, and i got incredibly close, but i believe the bird was up in a tree and flew away from there.
very upset i was so close to saving this cockatiel who very well might be dead now.

 

[Mizzely]

Depends on a lot of factors, but assuming no predators, there's still a chance! Especially if it's got some shelter in a tree. Don't discount him yet. I've seen stories of budgies living for weeks with sparrows!

 

[Pixiebeak]

I would try at dawn, not night , or during day. Birds should stay out in safe roost they found..

Definitely don't give up! Thanks for looking helping. It will probably stay near the spot you found it.

Parrot 911 has had amazing recovery stories even s year after escaping.

Wishing you the best !!!

 

[Xoetix]

Depends on a lot of factors, but assuming no predators, there's still a chance! Especially if it's got some shelter in a tree. Don't discount him yet. I've seen stories of budgies living for weeks with sparrows!

Or for months!

I also remember when I was in high school, somebody lost a cockatiel who ended up being taken in by a flock of starlings, and he was running around for a good six months before somebody caught him

 

[Pie]

i just read about a budgie that managed to survive from october to december in canada!
i am worried for predators though (heard tawny owls, seen foxes, a couple cats that people have let out..), but maybe with luck these predators have gone for their natural prey instead of the odd looking cockatiel. we are in the process of discussing with the owner of getting professional help now, as we sadly have yet to hear or even see the poor thing since my nightly encounter.
i do hope the tiel gets together with local birds, it is prime chance for that as we have a lot of local species return back from the south.

 

[Pie]

unfortunate turn of events, the bird has been lost since saturday! i'm probably going to grab some seeds to put around the town, if not for anything else to hopefully keep the baby fed. i advised the owner to put up a cage outside with food and water in hopes of the bird coming back on its own.

 

[Pie]

and in a positive turn of events, we are certain of the tiels location now! we have heard some very cockatiel-esque whistles coming from town center, twice now. there is a swimming hall, school and a construction site so we believe the bird has found a warm spot around there. he seems to sing at night, for whatever his reasons may be (though my male is the same, 4am jams in the darkness)

 

[Pixiebeak]

It could be the light pollution. If I have to turn on any light at night , my Budgies start singing.

I'm sure hoping this guy gets recovered!

Thank you !

 

[Pie]

we set up a cage on our balcony, since we are basically next door neighbors to these locations. unfortunately no catches today, but we will keep playing cockatiel calls from our balcony in hopes of him coming over to forage. plenty of seeds left for him and some water. i really do hope we get a happy ending here, even though this is not my bird my heart breaks thinking about a young cockatiel being outside all on his own. we will be going over to the school this evening to see if he's in a singing mood so that we could get his exact location so we could catch him.

 

[Aestatis]

Bless you for trying to help. Cockatiels are desert birds, so they should be fairly hardy against low temperatures.

 

[Pie]

Bless you for trying to help. Cockatiels are desert birds, so they should be fairly hardy against low temperatures.

truly hope this pampered bean is! we couldn't get a peep yesterday from the area we suspect he is in, but we did give the benefit of the doubt that it was early night since the weather was very windy and snowy. but we haven't heard anything today.. i won't give up until someone finds a body though. he may have switched the location to somewhere else. i do hope we get this guy home. upsets me to think about us being too late.
the fear of a predator getting the tiel is leaving my mind, i haven't heard any tawnies since monday, and there are no predatory birds in our area. i just hope the bird itself has not flown far now. we are also getting really warm temps this weekend (up to +5C) so i think this weekend is our best shot at finding him, will probably be on the move to forage.

 

[Pie]

we are all losing hope now. no signs, no sightings, nothing of the bird. we are afraid he might have succumbed to the elements, hunger or a predator. i will still look around, but my hopes are no longer high.

 

[Sade]

we are all losing hope now. no signs, no sightings, nothing of the bird. we are afraid he might have succumbed to the elements, hunger or a predator. i will still look around, but my hopes are no longer high.

I have had animals surprise me when I have given up on them. Still hoping for you!

 

[Pie]

it has now been a week since we have had a reputable sighting. or well hearing. last night has been incredibly cold (-8c) and the rest of the week will be of similar weather. if he hasn't perished, he must be with someone now. a lot of local birds have migrated back too, so outside is now a cacophony of bird sounds.
i have a feeling we may never see this guy return home

 

[Pie]

we have received a new hearing, and this time the owner themselves has confirmed to have heard their bird when they went to the area to look! he has flown to the neighboring town (around 3km bird route). we are moving our search there. he might actually still have a chance of being returned home.

 

[Aestatis]

we have received a new hearing, and this time the owner themselves has confirmed to have heard their bird when they went to the area to look! he has flown to the neighboring town (around 3km bird route). we are moving our search there. he might actually still have a chance of being returned home.

It's not too surprising - Cockatiels fly long distances every day in the wild. Fingers crossed it's him!

 

[Pixiebeak]

Adding my prayers