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The four species of South American bellbirds can make a real racket, including this Bearded Bellbird. Hidden in the tree canopy, males cannot see one another as they sing — but they sure can hear each other! Their ear-splitting songs carry over long distances. The loudest of the species is the White Bellbird, reaching an ear-splitting 125 decibels — louder than a rock concert! It’s the loudest bird song ever documented.
BirdNote®
Bellbirds Turn It Up to 11
Written by Bob Sundstrom
This is BirdNote.
In the tropical forest of Trinidad, a male Bearded Bellbird sings from within the tree canopy.
[Bearded Bellbird rapid song, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/142794301 , 0.02-.05]
The male, nearly a foot long, is a chunky white bird with a dark head. He appears to have a dark beard of long whiskers hanging below his wide beak—it’s a peculiar mass of rubbery-looking feathers.
[Bearded Bellbird rapid song, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/142794301 , 0.02-.07]
But that metronome-like chirping is just one of his songs — he’s known for a sharp crack that’s shockingly loud:
[Bearded Bellbird song, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/213370751, repeat note 3 times]
Hidden in the canopy, males cannot see one another as they sing — but they sure can hear each other! Their ear-splitting songs carry over loooong distances.
One of four South American bellbird species, the Bearded Bellbird occurs across much of northern South America.
The loudest of the four is the White Bellbird, reaching an ear-splitting 125 decibels — louder than a rock concert! It’s the loudest bird song ever documented.
[White Bellbird, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/62820, 0.23]
Now that’s a bird that turns it up to 11!
[White Bellbird, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/62820, 0.23]
For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.
Support for BirdNote is provided by J. Bruce and Alice Whelihan and generous listeners around the world.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Bearded Bellbird ML142794301 recorded by D. Lane, Bearded Bellbird ML213370751 recorded by G. Willrich, White Bellbird ML62820 recorded by P Schwartz
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote May 2021 / August 2023
Narrator: Michael Stein
ID# bellbird-01-2021-5-4 bellbird-01
Bob writes: **South American bellbirds incidentally share a common name with the New Zealand Bellbird (topic of another script) both named for their songs. The two are entirely unrelated.
Bob Sundstrom
Writer