Debunking The Enduring Myth of the Roosters' 'Cock-a-Doodle-doo'

One of the most enduring urban myths in the animal world has to do with the shrill "cock-a-doodle-doo" of a barnyard rooster (also known as a "cock"). Popular belief has it that roosters crow only at the break of dawn, ostensibly to accommodatingly wake farmers and other early risers. I'd be willing to bet that a number of readers - city dwellers, perhaps - think that this yarn actually holds some validity.

Sorry to be a spoilsport, but the tale isn't entirely true. While rooster crowing usually does begin at first light, it can, and oftentimes does, continue throughout the day - and the reason they do so has absolutely nothing to do with being a feathered alarm clock. In actuality the piercing, high-pitched call serves as a territorial challenge to other roosters, to attract nearby hens and as a general warning signal.

How this myth got started is a matter of historical debate, but one of the earliest references to the bird and its distinctive ululations can be traced back to Greek mythology. According to the legend, Alectryon - the ancient Greek word for "rooster" - was a youth who was ordered by the Ares, the god of war, to stand guard outside his door while the he carried on an adulterous dalliance with goddess Aphrodite. Unfortunately, Alectryon fell asleep at his post, and Helios, the sun god, walked in on the amorous couple. Spitefully, Ares turned Alectryon into a rooster, which never forgets to announce the sun's arrival in the morning.

The Bible provides a well-known reference in the passage where Jesus prophesied of his betrayal by Peter: "And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me." (Luke 22:34) This made the rooster a symbol for both vigilance and betrayal.

Other legends have sprung up around the raucous bird: in old central European folk tales the devil is believed to flee at the first crowing of a cock. A medieval myth posits that the Basilisk, a giant snake who kills with a single glance and is hatched by a toad from a hen's egg, will instantly die if it hears a rooster crowing.