Gainesville, Virginia. Homefacts City Report. Gainesville is located in Prince William County, VA. The population is 11,225. There are 5 public schools in Gainesville with an average Homefacts rating of A. The total crime rate for Gainesville is very low, and there are 21 registered sex offenders residing in the city.
On average, northern cardinals live for 3 years in the wild although several individuals have had life spans of 13 to 15 years. The longevity record for a captive northern cardinal is 28 Â½ years!
Birds can be very long-lived in captivity. One Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (a common Australian parrot made famous by the TV show Baretta) lived most of his 80-plus years in a zoo. Captive Canada Geese have lived for 33 years, House Sparrows 23 years, and Northern Cardinals 22 years. In nature, the life-spans of these species are much shorter. As luck would have it, however, the record for a European Starling in the wild, 20 years, is 3 years longer than for any starling captives.