There are a few collective nouns for a group of Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura): bevy, cote, dole/dule. Wouldn’t “cortege” be appropriate? And while we’re on the subject, what is the name for a group of collective nouns? A thesaurus of collective nouns? An obscurity? A venary?
Fifteen Doves
One response to “Fifteen Doves”
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Not a cote – I don’t think they live in human-provided apartments like their cousins the flying rats.
Dole – archaic, and I think the word now has a totally different connotation in people’s minds – I don’t want to suggest that mourning doves are not hard-working non-self-supporting members of the avian group. I wouldn’t mind using “dolor” though.
Bevy – already taken by quails.
Cortege seems most appropriate, though maybe not since I don’t think they fly in a line with their headlights on.
Backyard and Beyond 
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