The screaming piha (''Lipaugus vociferans'') is a species of passerine

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family Cotingidae. It is found in humid forests in the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

and tropical parts of the Mata Atlântica in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. They are most notable for their extraordinarily loud voice.

Distribution and habitat

The screaming piha is a common bird in the middle and lower parts of the canopy at altitudes below about , or up to in Venezuela and the Andean foothills.

Description

The screaming piha grows to a length of about . Both sexes have dull grey

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

(wings and tail often somewhat duskier) and the underparts are paler grey. Juveniles are grey tinged with brown or rust.

Behavior and ecology

The screaming piha is an elusive bird despite its distinctive voice, remaining still for long periods and blending in with tree branches. It is usually solitary, but may sometimes join a mixed species foraging group.

Diet and feeding

This species feeds mainly on fruits, but also consumes insects, sometimes flying out from its perch to pluck a fruit or catch an insect in the air with a

trogon The trogons and quetzals are birds in the order Trogoniformes which contains only one family, the Trogonidae. The family Trogonidae contains 49 species in seven genera. The fossil record of the trogons dates back 49 million years to the Ear ...

-like hover.

Vocalizations and mimicry

The call of the screaming piha is extraordinarily loud, reaching 116 dB, second only to that of the

white bellbird The white bellbird (''Procnias albus'') is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is the world’s loudest bird, producing vocalizations of up to 125.4 decibels. The specific name (zoology), specific epithet is often spelled ''alba'', b ...

. In the breeding season, up to ten males may gather in loose

leks Lek or LEK may refer to: * Lek mating, of animals * Albanian lek, currency * Lek (magazine), Norway * Lek (pharmaceutical company), now part of Sandoz * Lek (river), Netherlands * De Lek, Netherlands fiefdom * L.E.K. Consulting, firm * Leung ...

, where they sing to attract females. The sound is frequently used in movies as a sound typical of the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...

Status and conservation

The screaming piha is adapting well to human settlement areas like gardens and parks, and is considered to be of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...