There is a distinct sound that almost everyone hears when they enter into the rainforest. The sound of the screaming piha – this bird would have you twisting your head around looking for him but he never seems to be found. This though is often what happens, these amazing birds are heard very loudly but rarely seen. As you continue reading, the article will reveal fascinating facts about the screaming piha.
About The Screaming Piha
The screaming piha (Lipaugus vociferans) is a species of passerine bird in the family Cotingidae. It is found in humid forests in the Amazon and tropical parts of the Mata Atlântica in South America (Guyana). It is adapting well to human settlement areas like gardens and parks. It is considered to be of least concern by BirdLife International.
Both sexes have dull grey plumage (wings and tail often somewhat browner) and a voice that is extraordinarily loud, reaching 116 dB, second only to that of the white bellbird. Males often gather in loose leks, where they sing to attract females.
The Cofan people of Ecuador call it the Pwe-pwe Yoh, which is a reference to its voice. Among the Ecuadorian Secoyas, the bird is known as the Kwow-kwee-yo. The sound is frequently used in movies.
Scientific Classification Of The Screaming Piha
Screaming Piha – Lipaugus vociferans [Scientific name]
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Passeriformes
- Family: Cotingidae
- Genus: Lipaugus
- Species: L. vociferans
Features Of The Screaming Piha
- Size & Color: It is a medium-sized bird looking a bit like a thrush but perches in a much more upright position. It is plain grey with a mottled effect on the throat and breast.
- Sound: Although it can be often heard singing, it is very difficult to spot, it is considered the noisiest bird in the Amazon.
- Adult: Sexes similar. The following description is based on Kirwan and Green (2011): Generally gray; remiges, greater wing coverts, and rectrices browner or duskier. Underparts are paler than the upper-parts, and are palest on the throat.
- Juvenile: Similar to the adult, but has cinnamon rufous wing coverts and tips to rectrices (Schulenberg et al. 2010).
- Iris: The iris is brown, gray, grayish brown.
- Bill: The bill is black, or maxilla black, mandible dusky with a pinkish dusky base.
- Tarsi and toes: The tarsi and toes are black, dark olive, gray green, dark brown, dark gray.
- Total length: 24–26 cm (Schulenberg et al. 2010), 24.5-25.5 cm (Ridgely and Greenfield 2009), 25 cm (Hilty 2003).
Habitat Of The Screaming Piha
The screaming piha is resident throughout the humid lowlands of northern and central South America east of the Andes, with highly disjunct populations in eastern Brazil. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is found in middle and lower levels of humid forest and woodland. It is common in tall forests, terra firme as well as varzea. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Diet Of The Screaming Piha
It lives alone but sometimes follows mixed-species flocks. It eats mainly fruit but also some insects, the latter being caught in the air by short sallies. Pihas have been observed to frequently visit fig trees and swallow the fruit whole; pihas were one of the most regular visitors to the fruiting Ficus under observation. Other fruits in the diet include Virola spp. (Myristicaceae), Goupia (Celastraceae), and unidentified melastotomes and laurels. Insects in the diet include Orthoptera (Locustidae, Acridoidea), Lepidoptera (caterpillars), Blattaria, Phasmidae, and Mantidae. Whittaker (1996) observed a piha consume a 5-6 cm Anolis lizard.
Conservation Of The Screaming Piha
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence 30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern. [conservation status from birdlife.org]
Reproduction Of The Screaming Piha
Males of the species, like male hermit hummingbirds, are known engage in lekking behavior during mating season. The males gather in groups up to 40 meter from each other and attract females by loud calls while jerking their head. The nest is a loose twig structure built on a small branch of a tree about 5-10 meter above ground. The few reported nests are relatively small, for the size of the bird, and are untidy collections of thin twigs, tendrils, or vine. The clutch apparently is a single egg; the egg is cream, with irregular brown and brown gray markings.
Vocalization Of The Screaming Piha
Screaming piha is famous for its characteristic qui, qui, yo call, which is audible through up to 400 m of rainforest. This call is preceded by 2-3 preparatory groo notes which are made during inhalation, and less audible. Variously described as cri-cri-o, pi-pi-yo, or qui-qui-yo, the vocalizations of the screaming piha are well-studied in comparison to its other characteristics. It also perches inconspicuously in the midstory but is betrayed by its song, a quiet introductory series of hoots followed by an ear splitting “SQUEE, SQUEE-AH.” The sound pressure level of the song of screaming piha, at a distance of 1 m, is 111.5 dB ± 1.3 (n = 29); “translated for human ears, this between 120-140 phons, a value of loudness between ‘discomfort’ and ‘pain’.”
Screaming Piha In Guyana
This article helped you to see that the screaming piha is famous for its extremely loud, whistled three-part song, which is one of the signature sounds of Amazonia. It is very common and widely distributed throughout Amazonian South America and the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Males often gather in small leks in the forest where they sing their piercing songs and advertise for females. Though placed taxonomically within the often-colorful family Cotingidae, screaming pihas are medium-sized, dull gray-brown passerines that are visually unspectacular overall. Yes, this unique bird is difficult to spot but well known by their loud and iconic sound!
Article References:
- https://avibirds.com/screaming-piha/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screaming_piha
- https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/scrpih1/overview
- https://ebird.org/species/scrpih1
- Main Image: https://www.hbw.com/ibc/species/screaming-piha-lipaugus-vociferans
