Pigeons and Doves are members of the same family – Columbidae – and the names “pigeon” and “dove” have little relevance. Those we call “pigeons” are generally larger than those we call doves. Pigeons and doves occur on every continent and many islands and about 300 living species of pigeons and doves are known. Seven species are regularly found in Florida -- five are native; two are introduced. Others are occasionally seen. One – the Passenger Pigeon – was known from Florida, but now extinct.
Introduced birds include the Rock Dove (feral pigeon) -- brought to the Americas by early European settlers as birds to be raised for food. They rapidly became wild breeding birds, nesting on cliff ledges as they do along European coasts. They quickly adapted to nesting on windowsills and other building structures and are primarily city birds in Florida.
The second introduced dove is the Eurasian Collared Dove that was being raised in the Bahamas, but escaped and quickly became established in Florida and from here spread across the continent.
Our best-known native species is the Mourning Dove – a favorite of hunters and named for its mournful call. The White-winged Dove is much less common, but shows up at bird feeders in southwest Florida and is easily recognized by the white along its folded wings. The Common Ground-Dove is our smallest dove and – as its name suggests – usually nests on the ground. The White-crowned Pigeon occurs in extreme south Florida and the Florida Keys. Our seventh dove, the Key West Quail Dove is West Indian and can be seen in Key West and rarely elsewhere in extreme south Florida.