Birds of Shakespeare: The turtle dove

Folger Shakespeare Library: For Valentine’s Day, we meet none other than the turtle dove, Shakespeare’s representative of romantic love. The word “dove” may refer to rock, barbary, or turtle dove. Pigeons also belong to the Columbidae family, which further complicates the count. The now abundant collared dove was first recorded in the United Kingdom in 1955, so it has been excluded from Shakespeare’s dovecote.[i] I have done my best to tally only explicit references to the colorful, pastel turtle dove.