Revving woodpigeons

[Africa]

For quite a while I have become accustomed to an unusual song of the Woodpigeon. It starts like it is going to deliver the usual 5-syllable song, but instead it stalls and it only delivers 2 and the last note draggs on, after a minute of two, the two notes are repeated, and I can go on lile that for quite a while. I have heard it mostly when the pigeon is concealed from view (inside a cypress) and in one occasion I saw it delivered by a pigeon sitting on its nest. Has anybody heard this and has an explanation of the meaning of this song? I have looked everywhere on the web unsuccessfully.

[Muggsy]

I think you will find its the male bird calling the female to the nest.

[thebeard]

there's another that i've heard it kind of goes "ooh-ooh. oo-oo oo-oo uh-hoo" bit strange

[Africa]

Thank you both for replying.
Muggsy, have you also heard this or is it only a hypothesis?
thebeard: yours is an excellent rendition, we might be talking about the same thing. It is a drawn out 'two note' thing.
Sometimes is frustrating how little we know about common birds!

[solus]

Africa: There's a Woodie in next door's conifer (where I'm pretty sure they have a nest) makes the same two-syllable noise for ages - Himself said "You wouldn't want that as a ring-tone would you? You'd be bored into answering!"

Can't explain the sound or its interpretation, though.

[k4t3]

Africa, I have quite a few Woodies nesting around me and this morning I heard a very odd call from them, much as you have. It started off as normal and then went all kind of purring, like a thrumming kind of noise...I know I also have Turtle doves in the area, but it was a harder sound than they usually make, almost a gutteral growl, then the usual coo-coo-cooo on the end....

[Africa]

Muggsy, you were right! I found an old paper describing the call and associatd behaviour as Nest Calling:

http://pdfserve.informaworld.com/246030__912496160.pdf