Scientists Discover Two New Contenders for World’s Loudest Bird

Two birds have just chimed in to an unusually noisy competition: the race to be considered the loudest bird in the world.

The bare-throated bellbird and red-legged seriema can both produce calls that exceed 120 decibels, according to a new University of Massachusetts Amherst study published in Evolution.

That puts them alongside the white bellbird, which had seized the crown as the loudest bird ever measured back in 2019 by giving a cry nine decibels louder than its predecessor. Now, researchers say, differences in individuals and measurement methods make it difficult to declare one species the unquestioned winner, making this reign a joint monarchy.

The findings were published Sept. 29 and come from one of the broadest efforts yet to compare how loudly different birds can vocalize.

Scientists Measured 123 Bird Species

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Researchers João C.T. Menezes and Jeffrey Podos collected sound measurements from 123 bird species. Their results ranged from about 64 decibels in one hummingbird species to 122 decibels in one member of the cotinga family.

Measuring wild birds accurately is not as simple as recording a call. Podos told 404 Media that the researchers used laser rangefinders to determine exactly how far each bird was from their recording equipment.

“The laser rangefinders help us determine the distance between the recorder and the bird, which is important in our report as it allows us to correct our recordings of amplitude for distance,” Podos explained.

Why distance? Because sound, like light, travels, and the further a sound travels, the quieter it becomes. Knowing distance allowed the scientists to compare calls recorded from different birds and locations more fairly.

Bigger Birds and Wider Beaks May Help

The researchers also wanted to know why some birds can become so much louder than others.

Their study in Evolution found that larger birds and species able to open their beaks wider tended to produce louder maximum calls.

Other explanations were less concrete. Habitat, whether a species spends much of its time flying, and even its mating system did not produce a consistent pattern in how loud a bird could reach.

That finding left researchers rather surprised; the three loudest contenders live very different lives. The two bellbirds inhabit forests and use their loud calls during courtship. The red-legged seriemas favor more open habitats and form long-term pairs.

The researchers suspect other birds capable of crossing the 120-decibel mark may still be waiting to be measured.