Bird Guide

Bare-throated Bellbird vs Three-wattled Bellbird

Bare-throated Bellbird (Procnias nudicollis)

Bare-throated Bellbird

Procnias nudicollis

Medium172 gForest

Voice: The male has one of the loudest calls of any bird—a sharp sound like that of a hammer striking an anvil or a bell. Before making such a call, an individual must take a sharp inhale to increase air pressure in the interclavicular air-sacs surrounding its syrinx. It takes a long time for young males to learn the call, as one such male living in captivity next to an adult P.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ben Tavener · CC BY 2.0
Three-wattled Bellbird (Procnias tricarunculatus)

Three-wattled Bellbird

Procnias tricarunculatus

Medium210 gForest

One of four species of bellbird that live in Central and South America, the three-wattled bellbird is between 25 cm (9.8 in) and 30 cm (12 in) long. The body, tail, and wings of the male are uniformly chestnut-brown; its head, neck, and upper breast are white; and it has a black eye-ring, eye-stripe, and bill. Its name comes from the three worm-like wattles of skin that hang from the base of the bill. These wattles can be as long as 10 cm (3.9 in) when extended during songs and interactions. The wattles remain flaccid even when extended. Voice: Because of the secretive behavior of this bird, it is often only detected by the distinctive bell-like call given by the males. At close range, the vocalization of many in Costa Rica is heard as a complex three-part song, the "bonk" giving the bird its name. This hollow, wooden "bonk" is thought to be among the loudest bird calls on Earth, audible to humans from over 0.5 mi (0.80 km) away.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Noel Reynolds · CC BY 2.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Bare-throated Bellbird and Three-wattled Bellbird.