Bellbirds have the loudest avian mating calls in the world: Study

Bellbirds have loudest bird calls yet documented in world, according to a study which found that ir mating songs pack more decibels than screams of howler monkeys and bellows of bisons. According to study, published in journal Current Biology, male white bellbird's mating call is about three times louder than screaming phias -- previously loudest bird singer.  researchers, including those from University of Massachusetts in US, said that bellbird's calls were so loud that y wondered how females of species listened to m at close range without doing permanent dam to ir hearing. "While watching white bellbirds, we were lucky eugh to see females join males on ir display perches," said study co-author Jeff Podos of University of Massachusetts. 

males, Podos said, sang only ir loudest songs, and swivelled dramatically while singing so as to blast song's final te directly at females. "We would love to kw why females willingly stay so close to males as y sing so loudly," he said.  researchers said that females could be trying to assess males up close, though at risk of some dam to ir hearing systems. Podos said that well-studied howls of howler monkeys, and bellows of bisons were both pretty loud, but were t as loud as male bellbirds. He said that this was especially impressive since bellbird, weighing about a quarter of a kilogramme, is tiny in size compared to those mammals.

birds h some intriguing anatomical features like unusually thick and developed abdominal muscles and ribs, which researchers suspected might be related to ir singing.  loud singing ability also came with a tre-off, according to researchers, who said that as songs of bellbirds became louder, y also got shorter in duration. Podos and his team suggested that this could be because of limitations in ability of birds' respiratory systems to control airflow and generate sound. 

discovery, researchers said, offers ar example of consequences of sexual selection. Sexual selection happens when males compete for mates, driving evolution of truly bizarre and exaggerated traits such as peacock's tail, and w found loud singing abilities of male bellbirds, study ted.  researchers plan to furr explore " physical and anatomical structures and behaviours that allow bellbirds to produce such loud sounds and to endure m without hearing dam."