Dove

The doves are the 308 species of near passerine birds in the order Columbiformes. The terms dove and pigeon are used interchangeably, although smaller species are more likely to be called doves.

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The species commonly referred to just as the "pigeon" is the feral Rock Dove.

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Pigeons and doves are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills with a fleshy cere.

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The poorly constructed nests are made of sticks, and the two white eggs are incubated by both sexes. Doves feed on seeds, fruit and other soft plantstuffs. Unlike most other birds, (but see flamingo), the doves and pigeons produce "crop milk", which is secreted by a sloughing of fluid-filled cells from the lining of the crop. Both sexes produce this highly nutritious substance to feed to the young.

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This family occurs worldwide, but the greatest variety is in the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones. It is related to the extinct dodos. The young doves and pigeons are called 'squabs'. A person who keeps pigeons is called a 'pigeon fancier'.

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Dove: Symbolism ►

Species: In biology, the most commonly used definition of species was first coined by Ernst Mayr. Species are "groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations which are reproductively isolated from other such groups" (however, see other definitions of species below)....

Near passerine: Near passerine is a term often given to those birds most closely related to the true passerines (order Passeriformes); the group corresponds to some extent with the Anomalogonatae of Beddard. All near passerines are land birds. Whether all of these orders represent relatives of the Passeriformes or...

Seed: A seed is the ripened ovule of gymnosperm or angiosperm plants. The importance of the seed relative to more primitive forms of reproduction and dispersal is attested to by the success of these two groups of plants in dominating the landscape....

Dove related Images and Photos (experimental)

Blue Dove	Angel Dove	Billy Dove	Dove of Peace
Dove of Peace	Dove of Peace	Lonesome Dove	The Dove 1927
Lonesome Dove 1989	Lonesome Dove 1989	Annie's Dove Necklace	Child with a Dove c.1901

~ Table of Content ~

►	Introduction
►	Symbolism
►	Classification & species list
►	See also
►	Sources

►	FR: Pigeon

~ Related Subjects ~

Bird (2) - Definitions of species (1) - Passerine (1) - Population (1) - Ernst Mayr (1) - Biology (1) - Angiosperm (1) - Plant (1) - Gymnosperm (1) - Anomalogonatae (1) - Beddard (1) - Dodo (1) - Egg (1) - Seed (1) - Columbiformes (1) -

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