Animals sometimes express some bizarre behaviours. During the mating season, animals perform mating dances, when birds are scared they fly into cars, when lions are playing with their cubs they pretend to be overpowered by their young to teach and encourage the cubs for future fights. If you own doves or have been paying attention to them you may have noticed male doves bowing and cooing. But do female doves bow and coo too? This article looks into it 

Female doves do bow and coo but they don’t do it for the same reasons that male doves bow and coo. Unlike males, who bow and coo to charm a female, a female dove will bow and coo to acknowledge the male dove that she prefers, she also bows and coos when she starts brooding 

Do female doves bow and coo?

If you keep an eye on male doves on a regular basis you’ll notice them bowing and cooing at the females. Male doves coo and bow to attract female doves. This is how things work in the animal kingdom, the male makes an effort to choose the female and the female either chooses him or not. So it’s understandable to be confused when a female dove bows and coos and not the male.

Truth is, female doves do bow and coo and it isn’t uncommon. When a female dove bows and coos, she may simply be acknowledging the male she has chosen. Another reason may be that she is about to start brooding.

Do male doves bow and coo and why?

Male doves bow and coo for two major reasons; to charm a female dove and to keep off contenders in their area. Some dove species nest all their lives, when these doves bow and coo the male is usually trying to communicate to the female about the location of a suitable nest. Males may also bow and coo as a request to sit on the eggs briefly to confirm their mating is paying off. Males may get aggressive if continued mating does not yield nestlings. 

How can you tell if a dove is male or female?

You can tell which dove is male or female by looking at them. The male will have a wider neck area to amplify its cooing, it’s the one that initiates the mating moves towards the female, and a male’s feathers will appear ruffled from all the moves it makes during the pairing dance moves. 

If you have the patience, you can wait two months to see if the bird lays eggs or not. Ensure you provide a nest for this method. If the bird does not lay eggs, it is a male. If it does lay two eggs, it is a female. 

Why do pigeons coo constantly?

After finding a mate, a pigeon will continue cooing as an indication that it is no longer available for paring with other pigeons or to guide its mate to the nest. Just like humans identify each other by voice, birds identify each other with a signature coo. Either gender will coo to alert that it is the turn of the other bird to guard the nest while it searches for food. 

A very important reason why pigeons coo is to protect each other from danger. The first pigeon to spot the danger starts cooing and is quickly followed by the others, assuming that they together stand a fighting chance against the predator. If the danger is too much to handle, pigeons will fly off and continue the cooing from a safer distance. 

How do you stop doves cooing?

Don’t reach out for duct tape to shut the dove’s beak if its cooing gets to you. There are less invasive measures you can take to avoid the constant disturbance of a cooing dove. First, remove things that keep the bird near you. If it has a nest, keep a dummy of a predatory bird near it to repel the dove. If it does not have a nest, remove the food items it feeds on, and it will look for alternative locations for finding food. 

If the bird is a pet, find a mate for it and keep it well supplied with food to avoid cooing that is caused by mating hormones or calls for a non-existent mate. 

Conclusion 

A female dove will bow and coo to acknowledge the male dove that she has chosen to mate with. She will also bow and coo when she is brooding. Male doves bow and coo either to charm the female dove that he is interested in or to keep competition away from his area.

Doves constantly coo to warn others of predators, to signal that they are no longer looking for a mate or to communicate with other doves in general. To keep birds from cooing remove the incentive that is keeping the doves on your property and make it unattractive to be in your area, they will leave and so will their cooing

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in:  What do baby doves eat? All you need to know, Do doves coo at night?, Male diamond dove pecking female, why and what to do, Diamond dove illnesses that you should look out for, What do baby collared doves eat?