Why Does a Rooster Crow at Dawn?

Cock-a-doodle-doo! It's what most people think of as the crow of the cocky rooster just before daybreak. Cartoon roosters always crow at dawn. But most real roosters sound off at sunrise and beyond. And a threatening nearby train noise might spark his crowing as much as the sight of an advancing predator.

  1. Significance

    • The chicken's Latin name is the purposefully repetitive Gallus gallus. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, the plump bird has been domesticated for about 4,000 years. The male chicken is also called a chanticleer or cock. Of course, his female counterpart is the hen. Cockerels are youthful males of less than one year. The word "cock" is not specific to the male chicken, as other male birds have been tagged with it -- for example, "cock sparrow."

    Territoriality

    • The rooster is territorial. Because he oversees a grouping of many egg-laying hens, his guarding skills must be particularly astute. He will spring into a defensive posture should any other roosters or invaders enter his territory. To most effectively keep watch on his flock, the rooster will tend to position himself on an elevated perch, about 5 feet above the ground. When predators advance, the rooster will sound off with his ever-familiar cock-a-doodle-doo mantra. And this can happen any time, day or night.

    Cock-a-Doodle When?

    • The rooster gains his crowing voice usually before he reaches the age of 4 months. Although a rooster can and will crow at any hour of the day, because he tends to be rambunctious in the morning, vocalizations will occur most often at this time, says David Feldman in his book "When Do Fish Sleep?"

    Considerations

    • According to Feldman, some roosters just happen to be noisier than your average cock. There are roosters that crow practically all day long, and others that pipe up only occasionally during the course of a day. These differences in rooster vocalization are believed to be a function of personality and breed.

    Rooster Speak

    • Of course, like most birds, the rooster has more than a one-call vocabulary. He knows how to cluck, not unlike his female ally. In order to direct hens to a source of food, roosters have been known to emit a kind of staccato of clucks. Mother hens communicate in a similar fashion with their chicks. Also, the rooster deploys flocking calls, through which he attempts to round up scattered members of the flock, keeping the hens together.