Doves and pigeons | Columbidae

Duiven | Palomas

The breast muscles are exceptionally heavy relative to body size, which allows fast, direct flight over long distances and makes the family strong homers. The cooing call is produced with the bill closed, by forcing air past the syrinx through the windpipe rather than through an open mouth. Pairs alternate incubation on a fixed daily rhythm: the male typically sits on the clutch by day, the female by night. In courtship the partners touch bills and appear to feed one another, a gesture that cements the pair bond before the male brings material for the female to build the nest with.