Dove is the name generally given to smaller birds in the pigeon and dove family. The name pigeon usually refers to larger birds of this family. Doves live throughout most of the world. Their habitats range from desertlike areas to tropical forests.
Doves have small heads on plump, compact bodies. Their long wings are powered by large flight muscles, which can make up almost 40 percent of the bird’s body weight. One of the most common doves, the mourning dove, reaches about 12 inches (30 centimeters) in length. The smallest dove, the diamond dove, grows only about 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 centimeters) long.
Doves eat seeds, nuts, fruits, and insects. The bird’s crop, a sac in the base of the neck, produces a nutritious food called crop milk or pigeon’s milk. Both male and female doves feed crop milk to their young.
Doves commonly choose one mate for each breeding season, though a few mate for life. During courtship, male doves attract female doves by cooing. The birds place their nests on the ground or in bushes, trees, or hollows. Female doves usually lay two eggs.
See also Pigeon; Mourning dove; Turtle dove.
