![]() ![]() If you see three Oriental Turtle Doves together, it is likely a chick with its parents. In Europe, a pair of turtle doves symbolizes a loving couple, while in Japan, Mandarin Ducks are viewed in a similar fashion because they are seen in pairs year-round. This pigeon milk is fed by both females and males, which is one of the reasons why they're able to raise chicks at any time, and can breed several times a year and even in the fall and winter. While most small birds feed their chicks with nutrient-rich insects, pigeons feed their young with milk (pigeon milk), which is produced in their bodies by eating seeds. The Oriental Turtle Dove and the Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon in Japan) are among the most commonly seen doves and pigeons. This bird-packed poem depicts a procession of feathered creatures attending the funeral of the phoenix and turtle dove, two lovers whose death also ends truth and beauty.Do males feed chicks with milk, too? Why can we see many couples of Doves all year round? The titular birds of Shakespeare’s obscure and magical poem, The Phoenix and Turtle, embody ideal, chaste love. The turtle dove’s plumage has a color palette of sentimental florals like forget-me-not blue, delicate violet, and warm marigold.Ĭhaucer described “the wedded turtel with hir herte trew.” Shakespeare carried this symbol for love and devotion into the seventeenth century, using the bird as a synonym for lover. Many bird species are monogamous creatures it is my guess that the turtle dove’s docile nature and beautiful coloring made it the strongest candidate to represent courtly love. The lifelong, monogamous bonds between turtle doves inspired myths about their faithfulness. The folklore surrounding turtle doves takes a small jump from spring to love, a time attributed to birth and beginnings. The flowers appear on the earth the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land Song of Solomon (King James Version, 2:12) The Song of Solomon exhibits the bird’s link to spring: ![]() The turtle dove has divine associations in Christianity, as well. Turtle doves guide Venus’ carriage to her home of Paphos, on the coast of Cyprus, in Shakespeare’s narrative poem, Venus and Adonis. This connects the turtle dove with two Greek goddesses, as it also represented Aphrodite, and her Roman counterpart, Venus. This may explain why the turtle dove represents the Greek goddess Demeter, who presided over grain and the earth’s fertility. If the land were healthy and bountiful, it would likely be full of fumitory-and turtle doves. Its favorite food is fumitory, an indicator for rich, cultivated lands. The turtle dove’s diet of wildflower seeds fortifies its connection to springtime. It is one of the latest migrants to appear in Europe at the end of April, drawing our first symbolic tie to spring. The turtle dove is the only European dove that migrates to winter in northern Africa. Even its name is an onomatopoeia for its call, a purring “turr-turr” sound. There is a direct correlation between folktales surrounding the turtle dove and its instincts. Luckily, we can find the origins of the turtle dove’s folklore by looking at its natural behaviors. The turtle dove is ubiquitous in romance, used so often that its contours have been smoothed over and its details generalized. Any link made between love and doves counts towards the turtle dove. The white barbary dove symbolizes peace and is sometimes exchanged between characters as an offer of treaty. ![]() The color of the dove is not always given, but narrative and context help decipher the species: the rock dove was a utilitarian bird, used as a carrier pigeon to deliver messages or as hunting bait, particularly in falconry. ![]() I have done my best to tally only explicit references to the colorful, pastel turtle dove. The now abundant collared dove was first recorded in the United Kingdom in 1955, so it has been excluded from Shakespeare’s dovecote. Pigeons also belong to the Columbidae family, which further complicates the count. The word “dove” may refer to rock, barbary, or turtle dove. For Valentine’s Day, we meet none other than the turtle dove, Shakespeare’s representative of romantic love. ![]()
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