Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 2 hrs ago
Bellbird and Seriema Among the Loudest Birds Measured
Biologists measured the calls of 123 bird species in Massachusetts and Brazil.
They used sound meters to record call strength and laser rangefinders to measure how far away each bird was.
This distance matters because a call sounds quieter the farther it travels.
Bare-throated bellbirds and red-legged seriemas had calls above 120 peak decibels, the highest levels in the study.
The measurements also added data for 113 species whose call volumes had not been cataloged before.
The researchers say the findings provide a foundation for further study, but they do not explain why extreme loudness evolved.
A previous study identified the white bellbird as the loudest known bird, so the new findings make the bellbird and seriema contenders rather than settled record-holders.
Researchers found that the bare-throated bellbird and red-legged seriema were among the loudest birds measured.
Their study recorded call amplitudes for 123 bird species in the field.
The two species’ calls exceeded 120 peak decibels, the highest levels in the study.
The measurements covered a 58-decibel range, from about 64 decibels for a hummingbird to above 120.
The research was published in Evolution.
- Who
- University of Massachusetts Amherst biologist Jeff Podos and former graduate student João C.T. Menezes conducted the study.
- What
- They measured calls from 123 bird species. The bare-throated bellbird and red-legged seriema were among the loudest measured.
- When
- The article was published on 2026-10-11; the study was described as recently published in Evolution.
- Where
- The researchers measured birds around Amherst, Massachusetts, and across Brazil.
- Why
- They aimed to obtain reliable field measurements of bird-call loudness and expand the data available for comparing species.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
But until very recently, it has been very challenging to do in the field, and there’s very little data to draw on.
You have to get your boots on the ground.
This is basic, foundational research that no one else has managed to do on this scale, and it points to all sorts of other questions that would be fun to follow up.
Podos reported that the Amazon’s white bellbird produced the world’s loudest known bird call.
Podos and Menezes measured the amplitudes of 123 birds around Amherst, Massachusetts, and across Brazil.
The study was published in Evolution.
- Species measured
- 123
- Previously uncataloged species
- 113
- Call-volume range
- 58 decibels
- Hummingbird call
- About 64 decibels
- Bellbird and seriema calls
- Above 120 peak decibels
Sources
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