Bird Guide

Rufous Piha vs Screaming Piha

Rufous Piha (Lipaugus unirufus)

Rufous Piha

Lipaugus unirufus

Medium82 gForest

The rufous piha is 22 to 26 cm (8.7 to 10 in) long; six individuals weighed 79 to 97 g (2.8 to 3.4 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a rufous crown with thin, somewhat lighter, streaks. The rest of their face and their upperparts are deep cinnamon brown. Their wings and tail are deep cinnamon brown with deep ochraceous buff inner webs on the remiges. Their underparts are buffy cinnamon that is darker and duller on the breast. Subspecies L. u. castaneotinctus has darker, more chestnut cinnamon upperparts than the nominate. Voice: The calls of the nominate subspecies of the rufous piha are described as "a very loud, scratchy, electric-sounding WIIII'WERRRE! or Peuuur-WIIII'WERRRRE!, or just a single peeuuurr". Those of subspecies L. u. castaneotinctus are similar, "a variety of loud and explosive whistled calls, e.g., peeeéuw, wheeeéo, and chow-eeéo" that are sometimes given in a short series.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Rufous Piha
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Esmeraldas: 18.5 road km NNW Alto Tambo, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Daniel Ghyselinck · CC BY 4.0
Screaming Piha (Lipaugus vociferans)

Screaming Piha

Lipaugus vociferans

Medium75 gForest

The screaming piha is 24 to 26 cm (9.4 to 10 in) long and weighs 68 to 87 g (2.4 to 3.1 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have medium gray upperparts. Their tail and their wings' flight feathers and greater coverts are browner or duskier. Their underparts are a paler gray that is palest on the throat. They have a brown, grayish brown, or gray iris, a black maxilla and a dusky mandible with a pinkish dusky base. Their legs and feet are highly variable with colors that include dark shades of green, brown, gray, and black. Voice: " Screaming Piha is famous for its characteristic qui, qui, yo call, which is audible through up to 400 m of rainforest" and is preceded by two or three fainter groo notes. The song exceeds 110 decibels at one meter, which "translated for human ears a value of loudness between 'discomfort' and 'pain' ".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Screaming Piha
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song, lek song · Napo: 'Gareno (Guaponi) Lodge', Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Jean-Paul Boerekamps · CC0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Rufous Piha and Screaming Piha.