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

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

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

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

and tropical parts of the

Mata Atlântica The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and the ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. 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 ( "feather") 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, ...

(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 the branches. It is usually solitary, but may sometimes join a mixed species foraging group.

Diet and feeding

Screaming pihas feed 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 46 species in seven genera. The fossil record of the trogons dates back 49 million years to the Early ...

-like hover.

Vocalizations and mimicry

The screaming piha has a voice that 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. The specific epithet is often spelled ''alba'', but ''albus'' is correct due to the masculine gender of "''Procnias''". It is found in forests in the Guianas, ...

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

leks A lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals, known as lekking, to entice visiting females which are surveying prospective partners with which to mate. A lek can also indicate an avail ...

, where they sing to attract females. The Cofán people of

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

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 as a sound typical of the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

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 categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

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 ...