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The 2026 contenders for the world’s loudest bird are the bare-throated bellbird (Procnias nudicollis) and red-legged seriema (Cariama cristata). Both exceeded 120 peak decibels in a study of 123 species, according to the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s account. The white bellbird (Procnias albus) remains an important benchmark: Guinness World Records lists its call at 125.4 dB(A), but that figure and the newer study’s measurements use different reported metrics, so they do not establish a simple one-to-one ranking.
Which birds are the new loudness contenders?
The bare-throated bellbird and red-legged seriema are the two species identified as new candidates in João C. T. Menezes and Jeffrey Podos’s study, published in Evolution on 29 September 2026. The researchers analyzed original vocal-amplitude data from 123 bird species. The University of Massachusetts Amherst says both contenders exceeded 120 peak dB.
The journal abstract reports a broader range of maximum measurements: from 64 dB LAeq,20ms at 1 m for a hummingbird species to 122 dB in a cotinga. These figures describe different ends of the study’s sample, not a complete ranked list of every bird species.
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It remains a recognized record-holder, but the newer findings make the answer less straightforward. Guinness World Records lists the white bellbird’s call at 125.4 dB(A), recorded in Brazil on 21 October 2019. That is a separate record-listing measurement; it should not be treated as directly interchangeable with the 2026 study’s LAeq,20ms values.
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The distinction matters because a peak level and a short-window average summarize sound differently, and the reported metrics and testing protocols are not established as identical. The 2026 study references its cross-species measurements to 1 m; Guinness labels its white bellbird figure dB(A). The available figures therefore support calling the bare-throated bellbird and red-legged seriema new contenders, not declaring that either has conclusively displaced every earlier record under a like-for-like test.
How loud is a white bellbird compared with a screaming piha?
A 2019 amplitude-calibrated comparison by Jeffrey Podos and Mario Cohn-Haft measured white bellbirds and screaming pihas in a montane rainforest in the Brazilian Amazon. The authors described the piha as having the loudest passerine songs previously documented, but found the white bellbird more than 9 dB louder—equivalent in their account to roughly three times the sound pressure level.
That finding concerns the two species studied and their measured songs; it is not a current all-bird ranking. The same study observed that male white bellbirds used only their louder song type and turned toward a female when she was on a nearby display perch. The authors raised the possibility that females might need to protect their hearing, but did not demonstrate hearing damage.
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Why bird loudness measurements are difficult to compare
A decibel figure depends on what is measured and how far the microphone is from the bird. A raw recording made at one distance cannot be compared fairly with one made at another unless distance is accounted for. The 2026 field team used portable high-resolution sound meters and laser rangefinders; the study reports its cross-species range at a reference distance of 1 m.
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- Metric: The 2026 paper reports LAeq,20ms, a short-window equivalent sound level, while the University of Massachusetts account describes the two contenders as exceeding 120 peak dB. Guinness gives the white bellbird result as dB(A).
- Distance: The 2026 study’s reported range is referenced to 1 m. Distance and calibration details matter when interpreting any recorded level.
- Scope: A record entry for a notable call and a comparative study across 123 species answer different questions. Neither number alone supplies a universal ranking under one shared protocol.
Decibels are logarithmic, so a numerical difference should not be translated casually into a claim that one call is a certain number of times “louder.” In the 2019 comparison, the authors specifically described the difference as more than 9 dB and roughly triple the sound pressure level.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What might make some birds louder?
In the 2026 comparative analysis, larger body size and wider beak gape were associated with higher maximum vocal amplitude. The study did not find an unequivocal effect for the ecological factors it assessed: aerial mobility, habitat density, and mating system. These are associations across the sampled species, not proof that size or gape alone causes any particular bird’s loud call.
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Sources
- Menezes and Podos, “Evolutionary drivers of vocal amplitude in birds,” Evolution, published 29 September 2026.
- University of Massachusetts Amherst, “CNS Biologists May Have Discovered Two of the World’s Loudest Birds,” 29 September 2026.
- Podos and Cohn-Haft, “Extremely loud mating songs at close range in white bellbirds,” Current Biology, 21 October 2019.
- Guinness World Records, “Loudest bird call.”
- Nature, “Who’s the loudest of them all? The bare-throated bellbird vies for the prize,” 30 September 2026.
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