Doves (Columbidae) are a family of medium-sized, compact birds with a full, round chest and a small head. They have a fast, undulating flight. The male is called cock-pigeon and the female is called hen or just dove. Unlike other birds, they’re able to suck up water with their beak. The young are fed with so called pigeon’s milk from the crop. A pigeon-fancier is someone who keeps pigeons, but I presume they don’t milk them...
A dove broods about 16 to 20 days in a simple, rather messy nest. When the young pigeons are born, they are blind and covered with a thin yellow down. After 3 to 6 days the eyes open and after 11 days they are feathered. The mother stops feeding them after about 16 days, then the young eat themselves. After 25 days they are able to fly.