Bird That Has the Loudest Call

Summary

White bellbirds of the Amazon have the loudest bird call recorded, reaching up to 125 decibels.

Abstract

The white bellbird, a bird found in the Amazon, has been recorded as having the loudest bird call in the world, reaching up to 125 decibels. This is 9 decibels louder than the previous record holder, the Screaming Piha. The male white bellbird, which is pure white with a black bill and a long fleshy black wattle, uses this loud call to attract female birds for mating. The call is so loud that it can potentially harm the hearing of the female bird, who sits close to the male bird during the call. Researchers suggest that the unusual loud call may be the result of sexual selection. The bird's courtship ritual is also bizarre, with the male bird facing away from the potential mate for the first note and then swiveling around to yell the second note right in her face.

Bullet points

White bellbirds have the loudest bird call recorded, reaching up to 125 decibels.
The white bellbird is found in the Amazon and is pure white with a black bill and a long fleshy black wattle.
The male white bellbird uses its loud call to attract female birds for mating.
The call is so loud that it can potentially harm the hearing of the female bird.
Researchers suggest that the unusual loud call may be the result of sexual selection.
The bird's courtship ritual is bizarre, with the male bird facing away from the potential mate for the first note and then swiveling around to yell the second note right in her face.

White bellbird is the world’s loudest bird

White Bellbird. Photo from Brendan Ryan on Flickr

In the afternoon, I was browsing the internet casually. And then I encountered a white bird. No, it was not outside of my window. It was in the news I was reading. This all-white lovely bird has the loudest call that is even unsafe for human ears if you hear it from a close distance.

Yes, white bellbirds of Amazon have the loudest call recorded so far, 125 decibels, 9 decibels louder than the Screaming Piha.

The Screaming Piha (Lipaugus vociferans), another Amazonian bird, was the previous record-holder for being the world’s loudest bird until researchers Cohn-Haft and Jeff Podos recorded the white bellbird’s deafening call.

White bellbirds are generally eleven to twelve inches long and live in the north-eastern Amazon. The male bird is pure white with a black bill. It also has a ridiculously long fleshy black wattle dangling from its top and hanging down the right side. The female one is olive-colored and with olive streaks on the yellowish underpants.

But why do the male white bellbirds call so loudly?

Well, the researchers said that it makes this loud call to attract the female bird for mating. And the female bird — that sits close to the male bird — does like this loud melody though it may hurt her hearing, as the call is louder than an industrial drill.

The call is so loud that the researchers wonder about how the birds do this without going deaf.

The researchers Cohn-Haft and Jeff Podos suggested that the unusual loud call may be the result of sexual selection.

This bird’s courtship ritual is also bizarre. Cohn-Haft said that the male faces directly away from the potential mate for the first of the song’s notes. Then, in a fraction of a second, he swivels around and yells the second note right in her face.

No doubt, it’s one of the fascinating birds we have ever seen. And I hope further research will reveal more amazing information about this all-white beauty with the loudest call.

But please, do not attempt to hear its call from a close distance. Make sure that you have a hundred-meter distance.

Thank you for reading.

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