Crested Bellbird
Calls & Song

Crested Bellbird (Oreoica gutturalis) painting by John Gould

The song of the Crested Bellbird is one of Australia’s finest bird calls and a characteristic sound of the outback. Song phrases consist of a series of repeated resonant notes with one or two deeper liquid cow-bell ‘tonk’ notes interwoven at the end. Each phrase usually starts softly and increases in intensity. These fluid melodic rhythms carry a significant distance across open arid landscapes and have a ventriloquial quality making it a challenge to locate a calling bird! Apart from the distinct song, Crested Bellbirds make a few other sounds including simple ‘chuck’ notes and harsher scolding calls.

The Crested Bellbird (Oreoica gutturalis) is endemic to mainland Australia and is found mainly in dry wooded habitats such as mallee, mulga, acacia shrubland and grasslands with scattered trees.

A number of indigenous languages use onomatopoeic names to describe this speces. For example, in Pitjantjatjara this bird is known as “Panpanpalala” and in Warlpiri it is “Kanpanparlala”!

Listen to Crested Bellbird Sounds

The audio in the video below features a male Crested Bellbird singing seven different song phrases. Recorded in Paroo Darling National Park, New South Wales.