How LOUD is your bird?...Decibel facts

Owning a GCC makes my ears ring...then I got to thinking about the bigger birds...how loud are they?
here are some decibel facts on some birds:

please add your info if you have it, it will prove to be very interesting!

Moluccan Cockatoos hold the record as the loudest bird on earth at 135db (average = 120db).”
Hyacinth macaw alarm calls were 106 dB.
A scarlet macaw measured at 102 dB from 15 feet away.

It was interesting to find that size isn’t always the determining factor for tolerable noise. Some of the loudest birds according to the polls were birds in smaller bodies. Conures ranked at No. 1 for overall loudness, as well as frequency for contact calls, greetings and alarm calls.

I don't have decibel facts but I know the bigger birds can really make some noise. However, for loudness, harshness and frequency, i have to say sun conures can really rank pretty high! And i almost think frequency is the "problem", more than volume.
Never having had a cockatoo or macaw of my own but being around them often enough, i have to say their call is pretty darn impressive, but i have never known one who was a problem squawker. THAT could be pretty wild.

I don't know the decibel "science" behind it, but let me tell you, if Kiwi is upset, you can hear him from inside all the way down at the end of the block. Thankfully, he's not typically a very noisy bird, but he can wake up the neighborhood if he really wants to.

that's what I was more interested in, I know amazons are loud, but how loud?.. compared to their counterparts.
sometimes I get into my 'science mode', and gets me wondering about this sort of thing

My friend who has both Sun and Green Cheek recorded:
Her Sun : 104 db
Her GCC : 94 db

To put it in perspective, 1 DECIBEL IS 10 TIMES LOUDER!!

So the Sun is 100 times louder than the Green Cheek!!! EEEKKKK !!

ha, i so believe that, having a sun for 11 yrs.

Sun conures and there high pitched harsh calls hurt my ears lol

I don't know what a galahs number is, I don't think it's as loud as a sun conures, and at a deeper tone so it's easier on the ears.

In my parrot book they had the following levels-

Macaw- 105 decibels
Moluccan cockatoo- 135 decibels
Nanday conure- 155 decibels
Mealy amazon- 124 decibels
Quaker parrot-113 decibels
Mustached parakeet- 111 decibels
Mitred conure- 100 decibels

and then it says- at a distance of 100 feet, the average jet engine is 140 decibels, so some parrots are louder!

I have a video on here somewhere of my breeder's aviary, I'll show you loud LOL :d

Loud has never been a problem to me... it's the screeching I can't handle.

Give me a loud braying cockatoo over a screechy sun conure any day!

In my research of parrots I found that the Eclectus parrot is listed as loud with the alarm cries as loud as a cockatoo or macaw but it isn't the loudness that bothers me. Overall I find my birds to be fairly quiet in that it isn't an on-going thing all day long. It's not overly shrill like a conure's grating voice and it isn't constant like the kibbitzing of a parakeet. The parakeet thing kinda gets to me lol!

tab_xo said:

In my parrot book they had the following levels-

Macaw- 105 decibels
Moluccan cockatoo- 135 decibels
Nanday conure- 155 decibels
Mealy amazon- 124 decibels
Quaker parrot-113 decibels
Mustached parakeet- 111 decibels
Mitred conure- 100 decibels

and then it says- at a distance of 100 feet, the average jet engine is 140 decibels, so some parrots are louder!

Click to expand...

great info! thanks for sharing it.

Ozzie can be pretty loud sometimes, especially in the morning and afternoon. But when comparing Ozzie with the wild flocks of cockatoos, Ozzie is nothing.

I can handle the noise from blue and gold macaws and red tailed black cockatoos, however, I can't handle lovebirds. It's that high pitched sound that gives me a headache.

Well my m2 is very very loud you can hear him over a mile away inside the house if the door is open, but I think a m2 has measure at 300d's and they are recorded to be as loud as a jet engine taking off sooo yeah I got a jet engine In my house

tab_xo, do you have the name and author of the book you are referring to? I want to be able to accurately cite the information.

I volunteer with a rescue and have been wanting to make a chart with the decibels compared to every day sounds that we could use at public education events.

Thanks,

Amanda

MomosMom said:

tab_xo, do you have the name and author of the book you are referring to? I want to be able to accurately cite the information.

I volunteer with a rescue and have been wanting to make a chart with the decibels compared to every day sounds that we could use at public education events.

Thanks,

Amanda

Click to expand...

Indeed i do!

Good Parrotkeeping

A Comprehensive Guide to All Things Parrot

Robin Deutsch


Page 15, under the chapter- Your parrot and you


The book is EXCELLENT... It has absolutely every type of information, telling you about the negatives and positives..

And it goes through basically every species and lists their diet and behaviour ect..

Then it has a big chart which compares all the species with their loudness and messiness and such

tab_xo said:

MomosMom said:

tab_xo, do you have the name and author of the book you are referring to? I want to be able to accurately cite the information.

I volunteer with a rescue and have been wanting to make a chart with the decibels compared to every day sounds that we could use at public education events.

Thanks,

Amanda

Click to expand...

Indeed i do!

Good Parrotkeeping

A Comprehensive Guide to All Things Parrot

Robin Deutsch


Page 15, under the chapter- Your parrot and you


The book is EXCELLENT... It has absolutely every type of information, telling you about the negatives and positives..

And it goes through basically every species and lists their diet and behaviour ect..

Then it has a big chart which compares all the species with their loudness and messiness and such

Click to expand...

Does the book have information on the white fronted amazon? Specifically their natural diet?

Thank you so much!

Sammy01 said:

Does the book have information on the white fronted amazon? Specifically their natural diet?

Click to expand...

Let me have a little look for you.. That will be 25 dollars

So, in the species chapter, about Amazons it does a little bit about

Yellow headed
Double Yellow headed
Blue fronted
Orange winged
Lilac crowned
Red-headed



Nothing about white fronted

It does the diet, cage, accessories, behaviour, temperament and physical characteristics about each species..

But i guess it doesn't go into alot of depth about them..

Its more of just a general overview about parrot keeping, bonding, each species!

The chapters are-

Your parrot and you- parrots as pets, choosing a parrot, rescue birds, coming hom

The species-

Cage and other equipment- Perches, water- food bowls, beds, toys, carriers, play stands, air filters, lighting, harness, setting and cleaning the cage

Avian safety- around pets, children, dangers in kitchen, bathroom ect, scents, smokes, chemicals, electronics, carpeting, tempteratures, what to do if your bird gets lost, traveling with your bird.. ect ect

Diet and Nutrition- Seed, pellets, dietary problems, new foods, preparing foods, food warnings, recipes

Grooming your parrot- feathers, molting, preening, blood feathers, restraining, bathing, clipping, nail and beak care, excercising

Birds health- avian vets, importance of birds weight, health sickness, caring for a sick bird, common health problems, first aid, handicapped birds, when a bird dies

Taming and training- holding, body language, training, hand taming, problem behaviours!!




Basically i think every parrot owner should have this book, cause it just gives you basically every piece of information you need to know when you first buy a parrot!




If you want specific information on the white fronted amazon, have you tried-

Barrons- A complete pet owners manual to "amazons"

I have the macaw version, and it is just about macaws, and all the different kinds!

So i would assume the amazon one would have information about the white fronted!

Tab_xo,

Thank you very much for the information. I hadn't heard of that book but I'll be sure to look into it.