We humans use words to communicate with others. But animals and birds are not able to do use words for communication. That’s why they use different sounds to communicate with others. For example, doves use several sounds to communicate different circumstances. As their communication consists of cooing, chirping, and singing sounds. However, as doves are active in the daytime so you will be able to listen to their coo frequently during the day. But do mourning doves coo at night? Let’s dig into this.
However, as mourning doves are diurnal birds and stay active and cooing all around for the whole day, they used to rest for the entire night like other diurnal birds. But instead of this, mourning birds can coo at night.
However, their coo can be a sign of different situations. For example, to attract a mate, to warn the presence of a predator, etc. So now, let’s have a detailed look at why and when mourning doves coo. And if you are interested to know, then navigate this article. As this article will throw a light on this topic.
Do Mourning Doves Coo at Night?
Mourning doves are quite impressive birds due to their several attractive lifestyles. For example, these birds are monogamous means they mate for life. Not only this, after mating, both females and males build a nest to have a family.
And for that male fulfil the responsibility of gathering the material and the female arrange that material into an organized nest. Furthermore, when it comes to lay eggs then mourning doves always lay two eggs. Or you may say that a single brood of mourning doves consist of two squabs or young’s.
However, both mother and father mourning doves take care of their nestlings in which both parents used to make crop milk to feed their young ones. As crop milk is necessary for the nestlings to grow healthy.
Moreover, these mourning doves are diurnal birds that used to be active during the daytime and move to their nests to have a sound sleep at night. However, you may also hear their morning singing as they are on the list of most abundant birds.
But many people wonder that can they coo at night as they are diurnal. So then the precise answer to this question is that yes. So they can also coo at night, and they are also named night owls due to their cooing habits at night.
However, they can coo because of several reasons. For example, they can coo at night to attract a mate and coo at night to inform other members about predators’ presence in the area.
Why Is It Called a Mourning Dove?
However, as I earlier said, mourning doves are one of the most abundant birds, which also makes them the most hunting birds. Not only this, their cooing sound is some kind of depressing sound. That’s why they are named mourning doves.
However, as they are more hunting birds that cause a natural sorrow in these birds fro the loss of their loved ones. As grieving the loss of our loved ones is the natural act for all of humans and animals as well.
How To Stop Doves from Cooing?
However, the continuous cooing of doves can irritate many people. Not only this, but even a pet dove can also cause disturbance due to their cooing habits. So if you are one of them who want solutions to avoid their cooing, you can follow the following instructions.
Addition of Opposite Gender:
To stop the cooing habits of a pet dove can be possible with the addition of the opposite gender with them. So that they can be busy with building, nesting and laying eggs. First, however, you can let your pet dove find a suitable mate for you.
For this, you can place their roost to a suitable place where they can attract and find a mate for themselves. However, you have to build a birdhouse outside your site so that they can live there with their nestlings.
Don’t Feed Them:
However, this method is helpful for getting rid of a dove that is not a pet. For this, don’t feed them so that they don’t attract to your place. Not only this, try not to place any food not in your yard and not on your house’s roof.
Use A Statue of Their Predator:
As doves are afraid from bid birds like owls and birds of prey. So to get rid of them, you can use their statue in your yard. However, make sure to change the position and direction of that statue regularly so that doves can consider it a natural predator.
Read also: Can Birds See Infrared?
Why Do Turtle Doves Coo?
However, mourning doves are also known as turtle doves as well as rain doves. These doves used to make mourning sounds when they coo, but sometimes they made random sounds. So now, let’s have a look at why mourning or turtle doves coo.
For Communication Purposes:
As we humans use words to communicate with each other, similarly doves coo for communication purposes. However, the cooing sound might not be recognizable for humans, but they share with this way.
To Attract a Mate:
Cooing to attract a mate is a necessary thing. However, you may say that cooing to attract a mate is part of their mating rituals. But male doves are more likely to coo when they feel lonely and have to draw a female.
Moreover, female doves are also coo to attract a mate, but they are less likely to do so.
As A Nest Building Habit:
However, cooing while making a nest is also included in their habits. After mating, both female and male doves have to make a nest to live together and lay eggs.
Not only this, a nest should be a safe place for the squabs. That’s why doves keep in mind to build a safe and comfortable nest for their young ones.
A Final Thought:
This article will give you a complete idea about do mourning doves coo at night. As being diurnal birds, they can also coo at night. For example, to attract a mate, they can coo at night. Also, to inform about the presence of a predator, they can coo at night.
Moreover, doves use cooing to communicate with other doves. Not only this, during nest making, they also coo.