Temporal features are the most important parameters for differentiating amo
ng the perch coo vocalizations of doves in the genus Streptopelia. The role
of temporal features in inducing territorial responses was studied for one
of these species, the collared dove (S. decaocto), using playback experime
nts. The playback stimuli consisted of manipulated coos, which were tested
against a preplayback period and against unmanipulated control coos. In a f
irst set of three manipulations, the temporal structure was altered by remo
ving an element from the species-typical three-element coos. A coo lacking
the third element, which is a naturally occurring variant, was as equally e
ffective as the control in eliciting a territorial response. The same appli
ed to a coo lacking the second and longest element. In contrast, a coo lack
ing the first element did not elicit a significant increase in territorial
activities compared with the preplayback period, and there was a significan
t reduction in response compared with the control coo. A second set of two
manipulations concerned changes in the species-typical rhythm. The two vari
ants both led to a significant reduction in response compared with the norm
al rhythm, although they were still effective in eliciting an increase in a
ctivities compared with the preplayback period. The results indicate that t
he rhythm of territorial cooing plays an important role in communicating to
conspecifics. As different sympatrically living dove species differ in par
ticular in temporal features, rhythm may be an important cue for species re
cognition and may contribute to reproductive isolation.