wood dove

noun

1

: wood pigeon sense 1a

2

: stock dove sense 1

3

: any of a genus (Turtur) of small, grayish-brown African doves noted for their long, soft cooing songs

… spent three idyllic days there earlier this year, waking each morning to the echo of wood doves and looking down into the deep valley below in the hope of seeing a leopard slipping through the euphorbias.

—Brian Jackman, Daily Telegraph (London), 6 Nov. 2010

Word History

Etymology

Middle English wode dowe

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