Perched at the top of a tree, a strange bird sings. Strong. Very strong. This funny bird is the Three-wattled Araponga. And his singing is one of the most powerful of all. Ready to turn up the volume?
No, this bird is not a little pig that has eaten the last worms of its menu. Besides, he doesn’t eat worms. Almost only large fruits. And the funny growths that hang from his beak are none other than what scientists call wattles. Pulpit growths that can measure up to ten centimeters in length. The rooster also has much shorter ones.
This funny bird even owes part of its name to this feature physical. Researchers named it Tri-wattled Araponga or Procnias tricarunculatus. He lives in Central America. In Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica or Panama.
A powerful and complex song
And when the season loves, watch your ears. Because the Three-wattled Araponga is famous for its very particular song. A song that does not seem instinctive. But learned from his peers. A song that therefore reveals some regional dialects. Squeaks, whistles, harsh or high-pitched notes.
Above all, one of the most powerful songs in the world avian. The equivalent of 100 decibels. A song that gate especially since the male emits it perched at the top of a tree, with its body outstretched and its beak very wide open. While waving his wattles. A courtship display that is both audible and visual, therefore, which also allows the male to mark his territory, to inform his potential competitors of a kind of… preserve!
Unfortunately, this incredible bird is now made vulnerable by the massive deforestation going on in the part of the world where he lives. There would be no more than 15,000 individuals left. And the population seems to be declining rapidly.
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