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Did Dinosaurs Coo Like a Dove

Published: 20th Jul 2016

Everybody knows that predatory dinosaurs roared, but could they also have made other noises such as cooing like a common pigeon. New research by scientists found that cooing or hooting, otherwise known as closed-mouth vocalizations, commonly evolved in larger members of the archosaur group, which includes birds, crocodilians, and dinosaurs.

It is not possible to say precisely which dinosaurs cooed like a dove, but this type of sound is normally restricted to courtship and mating behaviour. Closed-mouth vocalization has evolved several times in the archosaur group so it is highly likely that some dinosaurs at least could and did coo. Body size and an expandable throat cavity are key to making calls.