What do you call a paloma in English?

In English, you call a "paloma" a "dove" in almost every poetic, symbolic, religious, or personal name context, and a "pigeon" in a more literal, biological, or urban context. Spanish does not make the same everyday distinction that English does; both the white, symbolic bird and the gray city bird are called paloma, with context providing the nuance. So if someone says "paloma de la paz," you translate it as "dove of peace," not "pigeon of peace," because English reserves dove for the symbol of peace and purity. If someone says "palomas en la plaza," referring to birds eating crumbs in a town square, you would translate it as "pigeons in the plaza." In ornithology, the scientific family is Columbidae, which includes both. When Paloma is used as a woman's proper name, it is typically left untranslated as Paloma in English because the translation Dove is rarely used as a legal name, though it captures the exact meaning. Similarly, the cocktail La Paloma is never translated; it is always called a Paloma, even on English-language menus, because the Spanish name is part of its identity.