Air Date: Week of September 12, 2025

The bell-throated bellbird pictured above is native to Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. (Photo: INaturalist, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0)

The exceptionally loud, metallic call of the Bare-throated Bellbird can be heard almost a mile away. BirdNote®’s Nick Bayard reports that the Bare-throated Bellbird is Paraguay’s national bird and has inspired Paraguayan harp music.

Transcript

CURWOOD: It’s Living on Earth, I’m Steve Curwood.

DOERING: And I’m Jenni Doering.

[BIRDNOTE THEME]

DOERING: In a moment, we’ll talk about the human-made noise in our world and how we can reclaim some peace amid the clamor. But first this BirdNote from Nick Bayard about a bird with some serious pipes!

BirdNote®
The Auspicious Chime of the Bare-throated Bellbird
Written by Nick Bayard

This…

[Bare-throated Bellbird Call, ML604636271]

…is the exceptionally loud, metallic call of the Bare-throated Bellbird. It’s so loud that it can be heard nearly a mile away. Let’s hear it again.

[Bare-throated Bellbird Call, ML604636271]

The Bare-throated Bellbird is the national bird of Paraguay. Males are covered from nearly head to tail in striking white plumage, but the area around their beaks and extending down across their throats is, well, bare — exposing teal-colored skin.

[Calls of multiple Bare-throated Bellbirds, ML362636901]

Females blend seamlessly into the foliage with olive green backs and flecks of yellow across their breasts. The Bare-throated Bellbird is considered a key indicator species, so hearing its loud chime suggests that you are in a healthy and functioning ecosystem.
In the indigenous language Guaraní, the Bare-throated Bellbird is known as Guyra pong, with “Guyra” meaning “bird,” and “pong” referring to…

[Bare-throated Bellbird Call, ML604636271]

Beloved in Paraguay for its call and its beauty, the Bare-throated Bellbird inspires music played on another emblem of Paraguay — the harp. Here is the song, Pájaro Campana, Spanish for Bare-throated Bellbird, played on the Paraguayan harp.

[Clip of Pájaro Campana, performed by Ann Brela y Sus Cuerdas]

I’m Nick Bayard.

###
Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Bare-throated Bellbird Call ML604636271 recorded by Andy Bowen, calls of multiple Bare-throated Bellbirds ML362636901 recorded by Henry Miller Alexandre. Clip of Pájaro Campana, performed by Ann Brela y Sus Cuerdas.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2025 BirdNote March 2025
Narrator: Nick Bayard
ID# BTBB-01-2025-03-17 BTBB-01

DOERING: For pictures, flap on over to the Living on Earth website, loe.org.

 

Links

BirdNote® | “The Auspicious Chime of the Bare-throated Bellbird”