By late September, their swift, direct flight takes them overhead on whistling wings. They flash south in bands of 10 and 20, belly plumage catching the fading gold of late summer sunlight, and when the great masses of doves begin to depart, autumn is on its way.
Colloquial names are turtle dove, wild pigeon and wild dove.
A dove is smaller and more streamlined than a pigeon, with a long, pointed tail and tapering wings that spread 17-19 inches. The neck is long, the head small, and the bill slender, short and black. A dove's wings are gray, and its back, rump, and middle tailfeathers are grayish olive-brown. The lateral tailfeathers are bluish-gray, with black crossbars and white tips which flash when the bird is flying. Legs and feet are reddish.