THE LOUDEST BIRD CALL: Three-wattled bellbird (Procnias tricarunculatus)

A highly unusual and distinctive bird, the male three-wattled bellbird is capable of producing the loudest bird call on earth, a thunderous bell-like sound which can be heard over a kilometre away (3) (4). With its prominent wattles and unmistakable vocalisations, the male is the more easily distinguished of the two sexes. The head, neck and chest are white, while the rest of the body is a bright chestnut-rufous, and three long, fleshy, black-grey wattles hang from the corners of the mouth and the upper part of the beak. In contrast, the female is olive green and lacks the characteristic wattles of the male, and has yellowish underparts which are streaked in the same olive green as the rest of the body. Immature male birds look decidedly similar to the female until the three wattles begin to appear at around 6 to 12 months of age (2)(5) (6) (7).