{"id":2531,"date":"2026-10-06T00:49:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T15:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/briefing\/2026-10-06-bird-vocal-amplitude-en\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T00:49:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T15:49:23","slug":"2026-10-06-bird-vocal-amplitude-en","status":"publish","type":"briefing","link":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/briefing\/2026-10-06-bird-vocal-amplitude-en\/","title":{"rendered":"A study of 123 bird species identifies two candidates for the loudest calls"},"content":{"rendered":"

2026-10-06 00:49 KST<\/strong><\/p>\n

A comparison of calls from 123 bird species identifies the bare-throated bellbird and red-legged seriema as new candidates for the loudest bird.<\/p>\n

The findings use defined distances and measurements; they are neither a definitive record covering every bird nor an invitation to approach one to test its call.<\/p>\n

Birdsong has a difficult measurement problem<\/h2>\n

Jo\u00e3o Menezes and Jeffrey Podos\u2019s study appeared in Evolution on September 29 and was highlighted again by UMass Amherst on October 2. CNN independently reported the two candidates. The university describes recordings in Massachusetts and Brazil from late 2018 to early 2025. Comparing how loud calls are, rather than just their patterns, requires attention to conditions such as the distance between the bird and microphone.<\/p>\n

What approximately 122 decibels refers to<\/h2>\n

The public abstract reports a highest measurement of about 122 decibels. The reference is one metre away, averaged over a 20-millisecond interval with frequency weighting reflecting human hearing sensitivity. It cannot simply be merged with an instantaneous peak or a reading from another distance. Decibels are not a proportional scale: twice the number does not mean twice the loudness. Omitting these conditions can make comparisons with other records or machinery misleading.<\/p>\n

\"A
This AI-generated illustration explains the topic; it is not a photograph or an exact reconstruction of real people, sites, experiments, specimens or official documents.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Body size and the width of an open beak<\/h2>\n

The study reports an association between higher maximum amplitude and larger bodies and wider beak gapes. That is a relationship found in comparative data. It does not mean body size precisely predicts every species\u2019 voice, or that louder calls necessarily guarantee mating success. The contribution is an expanded basis for comparing a relatively poorly documented feature of birdsong under a shared framework.<\/p>\n

The record and wider comparisons remain open<\/h2>\n

The 123 species are the sample, rather than every bird on Earth. The abstract itself describes the two species as candidates. This check uses the public abstract and university explanation, rather than direct access to the complete subscription article. Follow-up measurements of more species and the paper\u2019s public supplementary material are the next routes to evidence. Recreating these calls or approaching birds for a loudness challenge is not the research\u2019s purpose.<\/p>\n

Primary source and independent checks<\/h2>\n

Primary source and official explanation: Evolution<\/a><\/p>\n

Primary source and official explanation: UMass Amherst<\/a><\/p>\n

Independent reporting check: CNN<\/a><\/p>\n

Read in other languages<\/h2>\n

\ud55c\uad6d\uc5b4<\/a> \u00b7 English<\/a> \u00b7 Espa\u00f1ol<\/a> \u00b7 \u65e5\u672c\u8a9e<\/a> \u00b7 Ti\u1ebfng Vi\u1ec7t<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A comparison of calls from 123 bird species identifies the bare-throated bellbird and red-legged seriema as new candidates for the loudest bird. The findings use defined distances and measurements; they are neither a definitive record covering every bird nor an invitation to approach one to test its call.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":[],"class_list":["post-2531","briefing","type-briefing","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/briefing\/2531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/briefing"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/briefing"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepress.co.kr\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}