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Collared Dove Noises (1 Viewer)

David Nicholson

Well-known member
When a collared dove takes off, I have noticed they make a repeated whistling type noise for a couple of seconds. What I was wondering was, are they making this noise with their vocal chords, or is it perhaps air being forced through the wing feathers and vibrating ? Any ideas?
 
Feathers

Feathers.
Most doves and pigeons are capable of producing a ranged of noises using their wings, not least the 'clap' used in breeding displays by many species.
The noise that I always like from Collared Doves is that that 'burring' nasal sound they often make. The calls tends to get a little wearing after a few hours, don't you find....?

They are pretty birds though, and very prone to daft nesting attempts. I had a pair that laid an egg in a nest on my balcony when I lived in Kosovo in the early 80s! Abandoned, of course, as soon as the real snows set in!! And here in Budapest, last summer a pair attempted a nest in the thinnest boughs of the Norway Maple in our back garden at the end of August, without apparently any eggs, and the autumn winds dispersed the twigs over the next couple of months!!

Best

David
 
david plankton said:
When a collared dove takes off, I have noticed they make a repeated whistling type noise for a couple of seconds. What I was wondering was, are they making this noise with their vocal chords, or is it perhaps air being forced through the wing feathers and vibrating ? Any ideas?

The nasal "whurr..." sound is the Collared Doves flight call , the only European species of Pigeon that has one .
 
A work collegue told me that he regularly got Cuckoo's on his roof (in the middle of a dense housing estate). I considered this for a minute before asking him whether the 'cuckoo's' were a pinky-brown colour......the answer (of course)
"well yes...but they are definitely cuckoo's cause they go 'cu-coo' all the time"!!!!
 
Steve Jones said:
A work collegue told me that he regularly got Cuckoo's on his roof (in the middle of a dense housing estate). I considered this for a minute before asking him whether the 'cuckoo's' were a pinky-brown colour......the answer (of course)
"well yes...but they are definitely cuckoo's cause they go 'cu-coo' all the time"!!!!

3:)

I made that mistake in my pre-birding days !!!
 
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