Doves are part of the pigeon family, Columbidae, that includes about 310 species. The origin of the name may come from its vocalisation. What we hear today as coo may well have been heard as doove in times past - hence the name dove. There is no strict division between pigeons and doves, which share certain features, including small, rounded heads, small, slim bills with a small fleshy patch at the base, rounded bodies with dense, soft feathers, tapered wings and short, scaly legs, and cooing or crooning calls.
See also:
Barbary dove, Black-naped Fruit-Dove, Black winged ground dove, Blue ground dove, Cape Dove, Collared dove, Diamond Dove, Eared dove, Green winged / emerald dove, Inca Dove, Little brown dove/laughing dove, Luzon bleeding heart dove, Mourning dove, Socorro dove, Spotted dove, Stock dove, Sulawesi Dove, Superb fruit dove, Turtle dove, White tipped dove, White winged dove, Zebra dove
