Q&A: ‘Pigeons’ vs ‘doves’

Each week here at the Australian Writers’ Centre, we dissect and discuss, contort and retort, ask and gasp at the English language and all its rules, regulations and ridiculousness. It’s a celebration of language, masquerading as a passive-aggressive whinge about words and weirdness. This week, pigeon-holed…

Q: Hi AWC, a quick one this week. I just need you to tell me the difference between pigeons and doves. Let’s start with pigeons, shall we?

A: Well…. Um. So the name “pigeon” has been around since the 13th century.

Q: Uh huh. Yup, good.

A: Aaaand, it’s from the Old French “pijon” – meaning “young dove”. 

Q: Wait. What?

A: Young dove.

Q: Hang on. Are you telling me that pigeons and doves are the SAME?

A: Well, essentially yes. 

Q: No!

A: Yes. They’re all from the same big “Columbidae” family of birds. “Pigeon” is simply the name the French gave to them – from the Latin “pipio” for the peeping sound chicks made. Meanwhile, “dove” was named by Germans – for the bird’s diving action. But there’s no difference. 

Q: But, I always thought doves were smaller?

A: Here in Australia, some might label the smaller birds as ‘doves’, but the experts will tell you that those feral pigeons you see crapping on statues are actually also known as “rock doves”. 

Q: But “homing pigeons” – they MUST be different?

A: Not anatomically. Of course, sure, that particular usage has them labelled as pigeons – and other phrases like “carrier pigeon” (from the 1640s) followed suit. But they could have just as easily been called “carrier doves”. Same bird. Same innate homing ability. Simply different names, depending on where you live.

Q: So what about the white ones with the olive branch? They must surely be ONLY doves, right?

A: Again, sorry to break it to you, but the famous “white dove” is just a feral pigeon. 

Q: No!

A: Yes. The best way to think about it is that the name “dove” simply got itself a better PR team. 

Q: What about the two “turtle doves” from that Christmas song?

A: Once more, they’re universally known as “turtle doves” – but again, they’re a type of pigeon.

Q: By the way, are they named that because they look like they’re wearing a turtle-neck? Or maybe they have trouble coming out of their shell?

A: No, it’s unrelated. The word “turtle” in the name actually comes from the Latin “turtur” – from the sound the bird makes. Turrrrr turrrrr.

Q: Cool. Any other fun facts?

A: Sure! To be “pigeon-toed” – toes curling inward – was originally applied to horses in the late 1780s before switching to describe human toes about 15 years later. Meanwhile, the term “dovetail” has been used in carpentry since the 1500s for the wedge shape resembling, you guessed it, a dove’s tail.

Q: So it’s just whoever got there first with naming things after pigeons or doves?

A: Yeah. And like idioms, they tended to stick with one or the other. Another example is the term “pigeon-hole” – those things often used by teachers and other professions to keep mail etc in. It was named in the 1680s for the small compartments on a writing desk that did indeed resemble the holes that carrier pigeons flew in and out of. 

Q: Fascinating.

A: The verb followed in the 1870s. For example, “she pigeon-holed doves for only symbolising peace, when they were also happy to defecate on statues”.

Q: Very funny.

A: By the way, do you know the name of the structure that Macquarie Dictionary defines as “usually at a height above the ground, for domestic pigeons, containing recesses for nesting and holes for the birds to enter and leave”?

Q: A pigeon palace?

A: Nope, it’s called a “dovecote” – yet more evidence of the interchangeable nature of the names!

Q: Okay, okay. I get it. They’re the same bird. Sheesh. 

A: Any other questions?

Q: Actually, YES. My friend just had her second baby, and now people are telling her she has a “pigeon pair”. Why?

A: Because all they’ll do is poop everywhere and keep finding their way home?

Q: Haha. 

A: A “pigeon pair” refers to having “one of each” – a boy and a girl. But any Noah with an Ark could tell you that there are plenty of animals you could apply this phrase to other than pigeons, right?

Q: Exactly! Why not a panda pair? Or a pelican? Or even a pangolin?

A: A pangolin?

Q: Yes, those rare anteater things that start pandemics.

A: Ah yes, those. So, the reason they’re called “pigeon pairs” is because pigeons do something those animals don’t. 

Q: Carry olive branches and call themselves doves?

A: Well yes, that. But they ALSO typically lay two eggs at a time, normally hatching as a male and female. The phrase dates back to the late 1700s and was originally just for a set of twins that contained a boy and girl. 

Q: But my friend doesn’t have twins!

A: Yes, because these days it can also simply mean a family with two children – where one is a boy and the other is a girl. A “pigeon pair”. 

Q: So to recap, pigeons and doves are basically the same bird, and specific names of things like “turtle doves” or “pigeon pairs” are idiomatic.

A: Perfect! And now, it’s time to fly away…

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