Researchers Find Two Bird Species With Calls as Loud as Jackhammers

Professor Jeff Podos and former graduate student João C.T. Menezes of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst measured the calls of 123 bird species and found that the loudest came from the bare-throated bellbird and red-legged seriema.

Both birds emitted calls as loud as jackhammers, reaching more than 120 peak decibels. The researchers found that larger bodies and wider beak openings were associated with louder calls, but why some birds evolved such powerful voices remains unclear.

Here, we set out to answer two such questions: to what degree do birds vary in how loud they can vocalize, and what evolutionary factors drive this variation? 

Podos had previously researched the call of the dove-sized male white bellbird, which has an amazing call at 125 peak decibels and is considered the loudest of them all.