stock dove

[ duhv ]

/ dʌv /

a cosmopolitan wild pigeon, Columba oenas, of Europe.

Origin of stock dove

1300–50; Middle English stokdove; compare German Stocktaube; so called because it nests in hollow tree trunks

In the stock-dove this is a better, more musical, and a more varied sound than in any other Columba known to me.

Afoot in England |W.H. Hudson
Among the feathered tribes they mention the “thrush and stock-dove.”

The Indian in his Wigwam |Henry R. Schoolcraft
Among the feathered tribes they mention the "thrush and stock-dove."

The American Indians |Henry R. Schoolcraft
The stock-dove, one of our pretty wild pigeons, nests in colonies in rabbit-burrows, as does the brown owl.

Poachers and Poaching |John Watson

Inside the sticks were the feathers and part of the skeleton of a stock-dove.

The Swan and Her Crew |George Christopher Davies

stock dove

a European dove, Columba oenas, smaller than the wood pigeon and having a uniformly grey plumage

C14: so called because it lives in tree trunks. See stock