Researchers have deciphered the noises that cows make

Scientists from Nottingham University and Queen Mary University spent ten months digitally recording the cow sounds

A cow’s motherly moos vary from low to high frequency depending on whether her calf is in sight or not, according to new research (Getty Images)

Researchers have deciphered the moos of cows and found that there are three distinctly different call sounds, after recording and analysing the way cows and calves communicate.

Scientists from Nottingham University and Queen Mary University spent ten months digitally recording the cow sounds, then a year analysing them with computers.

They found that, like human voices, cows made their own unique sounds.

However, they identified three basic category of call. Low frequency calls were produced by cows when they were in close proximity to their calves in the three or four weeks after birth. These were quiet and made with the mouth closed, or partially open.

Louder high frequency calls were produced by cows when they were separated from their calves, meaning that they were not in visual contact. Meanwhile, calf calls were produced when they were separated from their mothers and wanted to suckle milk.