世界上聲音比較大的鳥比摩托車還響

世界上聲音最大的鳥比摩托車還響

When the male white bellbird wants to impress a potential mate, he sings sweet nothings to attract her attention. Only in the case of this bright, dove-sized bird, his songs are ear-piercing shrieks that rival a chainsaw or a crash of thunder.

當雄性白色風鈴鳥想要給潛在的伴侶留下深刻印象時，他會唱一些甜言蜜語來吸引她的注意。在這種情況下，這種明亮的，鴿子大小的鳥，他的歌曲是刺耳的尖叫，可以形容成電鋸或轟鳴。

The dove-sized male white bellbird makes ear-piercing calls to attract a mate. (Photo: Anselmo d'Affonseca/Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia)

Researchers recently documented the call of this Amazon crooner and found the song of the male white bellbird (Procnias albus) averages 116 decibels. It can get as loud as 125.4 decibels. By comparison, a motorcycle or jackhammer is about 100 decibels and a chainsaw or thunderclap is about 120 decibels.

研究人員最近記錄了這位亞馬遜歌手的叫聲，發(fā)現(xiàn)雄性白色風鈴鳥 (Procnias albus)的歌聲平均為116分貝。它還可以達到125.4分貝。相比之下，一輛摩托車或手提鉆的噪音約為100分貝，而電鋸或雷擊的噪音約為120分貝。

Not surprisingly, the calls can be heard for miles to attract potential mates. But they are not only singing for females who might be far away. They also belt their ballads for females who are incredibly close by, even turning their heads in order to blast their deafening songs right at their intended paramours.

毫不奇怪，為了吸引潛在的配偶，這種叫聲幾英里外都能聽到。但它們不只是為可能離得很遠的雌性歌唱。他們還會為離自己非常近的女性傳唱情歌，甚至會轉(zhuǎn)過頭來對著自己的情人發(fā)出震耳欲聾的歌聲。

"We were lucky enough to see females join males on their display perches," says study lead author Jeff Podos, a biologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in a statement.

該研究的主要作者、馬薩諸塞大學阿姆赫斯特分校的生物學家杰夫•波多斯在一份聲明中說:“我們很幸運地看到雌性和雄性一起出現(xiàn)在展示棲木上。”

"In these cases, we saw that the males sing only their loudest songs. Not only that, they swivel dramatically during these songs, so as to blast the song's final note directly at the females. We would love to know why females willingly stay so close to males as they sing so loudly. Maybe they are trying to assess males up close, though at the risk of some damage to their hearing systems."

“在這些情況下，我們看到雄性只唱他們最大聲的歌。不僅如此，它們在唱歌時還會劇烈地旋轉(zhuǎn)，從而將歌曲的最后一個音符直接吹向雌鳥。我們很想知道為什么當雄性唱歌這么大聲時，雌性會心甘情愿地和它們保持如此親密的關(guān)系。也許它們試圖近距離地評估雄性，盡管有聽力系統(tǒng)受損的風險。”

The white bellbird is about three times as loud as the the next loudest bird, the screaming piha. Interestingly, with volume comes some performance constraints. As the bird gets louder, the song gets shorter. Researchers say this is likely because the bird's respiratory system has a limit to its ability to control airflow and generate sound.

白色的風鈴鳥的聲音是排名第二的鳥——是尖叫鳥piha的三倍。有趣的是，體積帶來了一些性能限制。鳥兒的叫聲越響，歌聲就越短。研究人員說，這可能是因為這種鳥的呼吸系統(tǒng)控制氣流和發(fā)出聲音的能力有限。

But this new research helps explain earlier studies which found the bird has unusually thick, well-developed abdominal muscles and ribs. The better to serenade females very loudly, apparently.

但這項新研究有助于解釋先前的研究，即發(fā)現(xiàn)這種鳥有異常發(fā)達的腹部肌肉和肋骨。顯然是為了更好地大聲為女性唱小夜曲。

Podos says the findings, which were published in the journal Current Biology, are just the beginning, as they work to understand the other physical traits that allow such intense volume.

波多斯說，發(fā)表在《當代生物學》】雜志上的這些發(fā)現(xiàn)只是一個開始，因為他們正在努力了解其他身體特征，這些特征允許如此巨大的體積。

"We don't know how small animals manage to get so loud," he says. "We are truly at the early stages of understanding this biodiversity."

“我們不知道小動物是怎么發(fā)出這么大的聲音的，”他說。“我們確實還處在了解這種生物早期階段。”