turtle doves
Carol's second gift
Turtle doves are small wild doves known for their soft, purring coo and their strong pair bonds.
The phrase appears most famously in "The Twelve Days of Christmas," where two turtle doves symbolize devoted love.
The name comes from the Latin *turtur*, imitating their call, not from the reptile.
- twoNumber after one
- twelve daysNearly two weeks
- cooingSoft murmuring sounds
- love songRomantic musical composition
- peaceFreedom from disturbance
fidelity · bird · mating · nesting pair · Christmas · gift giving · symbolism · nesting · pigeon · folklore · romance · billing and cooing · lovebirds · pair bonding · devotion · harmony · pairing · pitying
- lifelong matesswans, albatross, albatrosses, wolves, gibbons
turtle dovesravens
Large black scavenging birds
vultures · crows · birds of prey · hawks · magpies
turtle doveshawks
Keen-eyed birds of prey
raptors · birds of prey · eagles · falcons · fighting cocks
turtle doveslone wolves
Solitary, self-reliant individuals
fighting cocks · sworn enemies · broken hearts · cuckoos · black widows