Turtle Dove
in ornithology, Turtur communis, widely distributed in the warmer parts of Europe. It is a beautiful bird, of somewhat slender form, a summer visitant to the cooler latitudes, arriving in May and departing in September. The male is about a foot long, with the head light bluish gray, the back grayish-brown, the scapulars and small wing coverts black , with broad rust-red margins, the breast pale grayish-purple, the neck with two large black spots barred with white.
The female is rather smaller, with similar plumage, but of duller tints. They feed on grain and vegetables, often frequenting fields of beans and peas. They make a slight flat nest of a few twigs, in which two glossy, creamy-white eggs are deposited about the middle of May, and the parent birds take turns at incubation, sometimes rearing two broods in a season. The note is a soft, mournful "coo," often uttered when the bird is on the ground. From its habit of pairing for life, and its fidelity to its mate, the turtle dove has long been a symbol of conjugal affection.
In Scripture, probably either T. communis or risorius. The latter bird is about 10 inches in length; tail short; general color gray, tinted with red, with red , upper parts greenish brown, with a black collar on the back of the neck.