What Is a Group of Doves Called?
According to the United States Geological Survey, a group of doves is known as a dule, and a group of turtle doves is also known as a pitying. These collective nouns specifically describe groups of doves or turtle doves, though other words are suitable for describing three or more doves, including the words “group” or “flock.”
A single word that is used to describe a group of two or more animals is known as a collective noun. The assigned collective nouns used to describe a specific group of animals can be seemingly ironic or humorous. Turtle doves are a symbol of peace and innocence, so it is ironic that the root word for their collective noun is “pity.” Another example of this is the collective noun for crows, “murder,” or the collective noun for cockroaches, “intrusion.” As all-black carrion birds, crows do conjure up images of death, and very few people enjoy seeing groups of roaches in their homes, making these collective nouns descriptive in more ways than one.
There are some general collective nouns that can be used to describe any species of bird, including a flight (for groups of birds on the wing) or a volary. These words can be used instead of dule or pitying to describe groups of doves.
