Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

In English, this road name would read Turtledove Hill, named for the graceful and sleekly slender tailed dove, common across continental North America.  The turtledove is also called the mourning dove (Zenaida macroura), and member of the Columbidae family.  That name is derived from their soft, drawn-out calls that sound somewhat mournful.  These doves are often seen perched on telephone wires.  They are ground feeders, foraging mainly for seeds.  The flight of turtledoves is fast and bullet-straight.  They may attain speeds of up to 80km/h.  Pairs of turtledoves tend to be monogamous, and both parents look to the care of their squab, generally two to a nest.  The parent birds secrete a substance from the lining of their crop that is high in protein and fat.  It is called crop milk and is regurgitated by the parent birds to feed the young.  This is a characteristic of the pigeon and dove families, flamingos and some penguins.  In parts of the United States, turtledoves are hunted for sport and meat.^[1]