The loudest domestic bird is generally considered the Moluccan Cockatoo, capable of ear-splitting screams reaching up to 135 decibels, comparable to a jet engine or rock concert, making them one of the most challenging pets due to their intense vocalizations for attention or alarm. While larger birds like macaws are loud, cockatoos, especially the Moluccan, dominate the decibel scale for pet birds.
Here are a few of the loudest:
The Golden Whistler belongs to the Family Pachycephalidae, which means 'thick-head' after the group's robust necks and heads. This species is one of Australia's loudest and most beautiful songsters.
White bellbirds shatter the record for noisiest call—and maybe their mates' eardrums.
Songs. Great Horned Owls advertise their territories with deep, soft hoots with a stuttering rhythm: hoo-h'HOO-hoo-hoo. The male and female of a breeding pair may perform a duet of alternating calls, with the female's voice recognizably higher in pitch than the male's.
Yellow-knobbed curassow (Crax daubentoni) at the Houston Zoo. This bird is over 20 years old and has fathered many offspring. The whistle of this species sounds like a bomb dropping in a cartoon.
Owl calls have several different meanings in nature.
An owl may hoot to defend their territory and make it clear to trespassers that they aren't welcome. Owls may also hoot to attract a mate, or to communicate with another owl they're already mated to.
The "boom" vocalization that cassowaries produce is the lowest-frequency bird call known and is at the lower limit of human hearing. Recent study suggests that casque acts as a thermal radiator, offloading heat at high temperatures and restricting heat loss at low temperatures.
Screaming pihas (Lipaugus vociferans) come in second place for the loudest wild bird. Recorded in the same study as the white bellbird, they reached peaks of 116 decibels—it's no mystery how they got their name. These small grey birds are found in northern South America, including in the Amazon rainforest.
The African grey parrot ranks number one in the list of most intelligent talking parrots. They can learn up to 1,000 words or more and are considered to have the intelligence of a 2–3-year-old toddler.
The bird that goes "woop woop woop" in Australia is the Pheasant Coucal, a large, ground-dwelling cuckoo known for its distinctive, resonant, bubbling call that sounds like "oop-oop-oop-opp" or "whoop-whoop-whoop," often heard morning and night, and sometimes mistaken for rain.
Casuarius casuarius johnsonii. Southern Cassowary 🪶 Dubbed as the world's most dangerous bird, the Southern Cassowary has a vivid blue neck and striking long red wattles. If they feel threatened this flightless bird can deliver a powerful kick strong enough to break bones.
Buruwagan | Bush Stone-curlew. Often heard at night, the bird's distinctive call has been described as akin to the call of a screaming woman or baby. In many Australian Aboriginal cultures Bush Stone-curlews have close associations with death and features in many Aboriginal stories across Australia.
The red-and-green macaw, also known as the green-winged macaw, is one of the largest pet bird species, living around 50 years in captivity. Ideally, it should be housed in an aviary where it can move freely.
Noise levels.
Cockatiels are louder than budgies, but budgies tend to spend more time making noise. The stream of budgie chatter is pretty constant, especially if you keep multiple, while cockatiels generally vocalize at certain times of the day.
Cockatoos: The Loudest Pet Birds
While cockatoos are known for their affectionate natures, these medium-sized pet birds can be the loudest of the flock, with voices that reach up to 135 decibels with their chirps.
The screamers are three South American bird species placed in family Anhimidae. They were thought to be related to the Galliformes because of similar bills, but are more closely related to the family Anatidae, i.e. ducks and allies, and the magpie goose, within the clade Anseriformes.
[Hawaiian Dictionary (1986) (Hawaiian)] piha. nvs. Full, complete, filled, loaded; full-blooded; completion, capacity, fullness; pregnant.
A bird is a warm-blooded vertebrate animal defined by having feathers, wings, a beak, two legs, and laying hard-shelled eggs, belonging to the class Aves (dinosaurs' descendants). While most fly, some like penguins swim, and others like ostriches run, showcasing diverse adaptations for their habitats, from hummingbirds to ostriches.
Historically, swifts have been known as "The Devil's Bird" - probably because of their inaccessibility and thus, just like owls, they attract more folklore than good natural history. But of course, it's not their nocturnal nature which keeps them beyond the reach of our early investigations.
7 Scary Bird Species
An owl appearing near your home can feel like a powerful event. Spiritually, this could be interpreted as a sign of transformation or a call to reflect on personal matters. Owls are seen as protectors, and their presence could be viewed as a sign that you are being watched over during a challenging time.
The Bible uses owls figuratively to symbolize tormenting loneliness, desolation, mourning, and judgment. This imagery is particularly prevalent in the prophetic books, where owls are described as inhabiting deserted and ruined places, symbolizing the emptiness and darkness that result from God's wrath and abandonment.
The most common bird that says "Whoo, hooooooo" isn't an owl at all. The Mourning Dove is so named because of its call sounds sorrowful, as if it's in mourning: Hoo-ah-hoo...Hooo... Hoooo...