Capturing Audio (and Photos) of a Bird with the Strangest Song

About half of all known bird species—some 6,500 in total—belong to an order whose very name highlights one of their most remarkable traits: the ability to sing. Songbirds (and, indeed, most other avian groups) possess a highly specialized vocal organ called the syrinx. Take a walk during the breeding season through places where birds live, and you’ll hear just how effective that organ is. It can produce sounds across a wide frequency range and at astonishing volume. The “song” of the South American White Bellbird, for instance, can reach up to 125 dB—roughly the level of a chainsaw.