The loudest animals, rankedHow loud are animals?

Q: What is the loudest animal?

Of the 13 animals on this list, the white bellbird reaches the highest level: 125 dB max, 1 m (calculated from rangefinder distances). The loudest bird known: about 125 dB at 1 m, aimed straight at a female on the same perch. Under water, the sperm whale click reaches 236 dB re 1 µPa, on a different scale that cannot be compared with air.

Birds, big cats, insects and dogs, ranked by the loudest level measured, with the distance it was measured at. Whales and shrimp are listed separately: their numbers are underwater decibels and cannot be compared with sound in air.

Loudest: 125 dB maxWhite bellbird
Last on the list: 67.8 dBA maxCat purring
Loudest under water: 236 dBSperm whale click, re 1 µPa: a different scale

Bars run from the quietest to the loudest figure measured; the dashed line marks 85 dB, the NIOSH 8-hour limit. The tag is the NIOSH daily limit at the loud end.

Loudest animals, loudest first

1
White bellbird
The loudest bird known: about 125 dB at 1 m, aimed straight at a female on the same perch.

125 dB max1 m (calculated from rangefinder distances)
~3 s
2
Elephant
A trumpet at 1 m: 112 to 120 dB. The deep rumbles are far quieter close up.

112–120 dB max1 m
~9 s
3
Dog barking
A beagle a couple of metres away peaks at 108 dBA; a shelter full of barking dogs topped the meter at 118.9 dBA.

104–118.9 dBA max1.2 to 2.4 m from the dog; kennel peaks at the dosimeter
11 s
4
Wolf howl
A grey wolf howl peaks around 117 dB at 1 m, as loud as a lion's roar.

117 dBA peak1 m
peak <140
5
Lion roar
A low 36-81 Hz roar reaching 114 dB at 1 m, repeated in bouts of up to 50 calls.

114–117 dB max1 m
~18 s
6
Screaming piha
The Amazon's former loudest bird: about 116 dB at 1 m, building to a ringing peak.

116 dB max1 m (calculated)
~22 s
7
Cicada
One African cicada at 50 cm averages 106.7 dB; a whole periodical brood in Nashville peaked at 85-88 dB.

85–108.9 dB max50 cm for single insects; swarm level at an unstated distance
~1 min 55 s
8
Rooster crowing
About 100 dB at 1 m, and up to 142.3 dB at the entrance to the rooster's own ear.

100–108 dB max1 m
~2 min 22 s
9
Birdsong
A song thrush 1 m away peaks at 103 dB; across a garden, birdsong is nearer 44 to 60 dB.

74–103 dB maxclose to the singing bird (song thrush figure at 1 m)
~7 min 30 s
10
Water boatman
An insect a few millimetres long singing underwater at up to 99.2 dB, audible from the riverbank.

78.9–99.2 dB peak1 m (estimated, underwater)
peak <140
11
Crickets
Crickets on a summer night in Zion: 40 dBA at 5 m. A European mole cricket manages 96 dB at 50 cm.

40–96 dBA5 m (Zion crickets); 50 cm (mole cricket)
38 min
12
Coquí frog
A thumbnail-sized frog whose two-note 'co-quí' chorus reaches 95 dB, all night, every night.

95 dB maxdistance not stated
~48 min
13
Cat purring
The loudest purr on record: 67.8 dBA, nearly as loud as a dishwasher.

67.8 dBA maxdistance not stated
no limit

Under water: a different scale

Underwater levels are decibels relative to 1 µPa, not the 20 µPa used in air, and water carries sound differently, so a whale’s figure is about 61.5 dB higher than a sound of the same intensity in air. Why the numbers differ.

236 dB re 1 µPa
Sperm whale click
The loudest sound any animal makes: 236 dB re 1 µPa, in a click lasting a ten-thousandth of a second.
189–190 dB re 1 µPa
Fin whale call
A 20 Hz pulse at about 189 dB re 1 µPa, sung by the second-largest animal alive.
188.5–189 dB re 1 µPa
Blue whale call
About 189 dB re 1 µPa at 1 m, pitched so low (around 25 Hz) that you would feel it more than hear it.
183–189 dB re 1 µPa
Snapping (pistol) shrimp
A claw snap so fast it makes a collapsing bubble: up to 189 dB re 1 µPa at 1 m.
151–173 dB re 1 µPa
Humpback whale song
The most famous song in the sea, with its loudest notes at up to 173 dB re 1 µPa.

Reading these numbers

Most animal figures are maximum levels close to the animal, usually 1 metre, and most are unweighted (dB) rather than A-weighted (dBA), because researchers were measuring the animal, not a person’s exposure. A low call such as a lion’s roar, at 36 to 81 Hz, would read far lower in dBA. Distance matters as much: from a small source in open air the level falls by about 6 dB every time the distance doubles (the inverse square law), so a call of 125 dB at 1 metre is about 85 dB at 100 metres. What the letters after dB mean.

Questions

What is the loudest animal?

Of the 13 animals on this list, the white bellbird reaches the highest level: 125 dB max, 1 m (calculated from rangefinder distances). The loudest bird known: about 125 dB at 1 m, aimed straight at a female on the same perch. Under water, the sperm whale click reaches 236 dB re 1 µPa, on a different scale that cannot be compared with air.

Every figure links through to its own page, with the measurement conditions and verbatim quotes from each source. General information, not medical advice.