![Dove release at wedding](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Dove_release_at_wedding.jpg)
A release dove is usually a small white
domestic rock dove used for events such as public ceremonies, weddings and funerals. They typically have a symbolic meaning for the event.
Subspecies and types
Typically one or more white doves are released. Sometimes doves are called pigeons, there is no distinction. Usually
domestic rock doves (''
Columba livia domestica
The domestic pigeon (''Columba livia domestica'' or ''Columba livia'' ''forma'' ''domestica'') is a Columbidae, pigeon subspecies that was derived from the rock dove (also called the rock pigeon). The rock pigeon is the world's oldest domestica ...
'') bred for small size and white coloration are released due to their homing ability.
Barbary dove
The Barbary dove, ringed turtle dove, ringneck dove, ring-necked turtle dove, or ring dove (''Streptopelia risoria'') is a domestic member of the dove and pigeon family (Columbidae).
Although the Barbary dove is normally assigned its own sy ...
s (''Streptopelia risoria''), also known as ringneck doves, carry a mutation that makes them completely white. These white Barbary doves are most commonly used in
stage magic
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...
acts. White Barbary doves are sometimes released in large public ceremonies as a
peace symbol
A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a ''Dove'' lithograph b ...
, and at weddings and funerals. However, releases usually use
homing pigeons
The homing pigeon, also called the mail pigeon or messenger pigeon, is a variety of domestic pigeons (''Columba livia domestica'') derived from the wild rock dove, selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long dist ...
, as Barbary doves lack the homing instinct and will die if released into the wild.
![White pigeon in Chandigarh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/White_pigeon_in_Chandigarh.jpg)
Albinism or other
genetic anomalies that produce an entirely white dove occur very rarely in the wild since an all-white coloration would make these birds stand out in their natural habitats, leaving them highly vulnerable to predators.
Ethics
Although dove release businesses advertise that their birds will be able to safely return home, released doves are frequently killed in accidents or by predators before they can return home.
Trained white
homing pigeons
The homing pigeon, also called the mail pigeon or messenger pigeon, is a variety of domestic pigeons (''Columba livia domestica'') derived from the wild rock dove, selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long dist ...
, domesticated forms of the rock dove, stand a better chance of returning home if vigorously trained prior to release by a trainer and within a distance of 600 miles from the
loft. Ringneck doves that are released into the wild and survive will likely starve to death. There are currently no businesses in North America offering release of ringneck doves. All businesses without exception release white homing pigeons although uninformed amateurs may release white ringneck doves this is highly unlikely because they often sale for more than 3 times the price of homing pigeons.
Humans have been releasing pigeons for millennia selecting birds primarily based on their homing abilities. From the ancient Greeks to the 5th-century Egyptians, people have for centuries released birds in remembrance, mourning and celebration. As in the wild, birds are occasionally lost to depredation although this is uncommon in most environments. Birds imprint on their home loft and are able to navigate home over hundreds of miles of unfamiliar territory. Birds are trained at a young age over incrementally longer distances to ensure the birds return home safely. Although birds are occasionally lost this is the exception not the norm.
Most of the pigeons bred for dove release services are bred for their color and small size, not for their homing abilities or flight speed, as a result, some birds are attacked by
predators
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
moments after they are released. Some released birds become confused and are found injured or dead nearby their original release site. Since these are domesticated birds, they do not possess the instincts or skills to survive in the wild.
Increased public awareness about animal cruelty, and the influx of injured or lost release doves in animal shelters is decreasing the demand for release dove services.
Symbolic use
Theological
In
The Epic of Gilgamesh, an
epic poem
An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
...
from ancient
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
, a flood narrative is present, where the character
Utnapishtim
Ut-napishtim or Uta-na’ishtim (in the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''), Atra-Hasis, Ziusudra ( Sumerian), Xisuthros (''Ξίσουθρος'', in Berossus) ( akk, ) is a character in ancient Mesopotamian mythology. He is tasked by the god Enki (Akkadian: ...
sends out a dove in the hope it will find land. However, the dove returns to his ship and he assumes it did not find land.
The release of doves is associated with
the Genesis flood narrative; where a dove is sent out three times as the flood waters are receding.
The use of a dove and olive branch as a symbol of peace originated with the early Christians, who portrayed the act of
baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
accompanied by a dove holding an olive branch in its beak and also used the image on their
sepulchres.
Olympic games
The ritual of releasing doves in the
Olympic games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
originated in 1896. The doves in the 1896 Olympics were released as part of the closing ceremony; the ritual became an official part of the opening ceremony in the 1920 Antwerp games. The ritual was altered to be purely symbolic after the doves released in the 1988 Seoul Olympics landed on the
Olympic Torch
The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olym ...
and were burnt alive when it was lit. At the Olympics 2021, in Tokyo, a thousand paper doves were used instead of real birds.
The Vatican
In 2004, Pope John Paul II released doves, with children, to promote Christian unity and world peace.
In 2005,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
started a yearly January tradition of children releasing doves from a window to promote world peace.
The practice was problematic due to the birds not flying away and returning to the window 2005,
2012.
At some releases the doves were attacked by other birds, a seagull in 2013,
and a
seagull and a crow in 2014.
In December 2013, at an event where
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
released doves during a
Holocaust remembrance event the birds were attacked by a seagull.
Since 2015,
The Vatican no longer engages in the releasing doves due to the problems of birds not flying away and being attacked by other birds. The notoriety of this event generated a public outcry for the Vatican to halt this practice. A
balloon release has been used instead in 2015
and 2018.
See also
*
Balloon release
*
Sky lantern
A sky lantern (), also known as Kǒngmíng lantern (), or Chinese lantern, is a small hot air balloon made of paper, with an opening at the bottom where a small fire is suspended.
In Asia and elsewhere around the world, sky lanterns have bee ...
References
External links
Professional White Dove Release Association - US, Canada, Great BritainNational Pigeon Association (USA)American Racing Pigeon UnionInternational Federation of American Homing Pigeon FanciersCanadian Racing Pigeon UnionThe Canadian Pigeon Fanciers AssociationNational White Dove Release Society
{{Pigeons
Aviculture
Ceremonies
Domestic pigeons
Introduced birds