What is the difference between "la paloma" and "la paloma blanca"?

Question

I put this question in "general discussions" because for me it is rather biology than vocabulary question.

When I translate it into English:

la paloma - pigeon

la paloma blanca - dove

There is still the same question for me - what is the difference between those two birds?

From the same set:

Hawk and falcon are two different birds. Do they both translate into Spanish as halcón?

Answer 1

Yes, both are translated as halcón in Spanish. Biologically, they are in the same order, but different families.

Pigeons and doves are in the same family in biology; in fact there are hundreds of birds in that family that are rather arbitrarily lumped into two the categories since the various subfamilies contain both pigeons.and doves.

And while we're on the subject, moth translates as palomilla, or little pigeon.

Answer 2

To piggyback on that, paloma is pigeon, paloma blanca is dove, and palomitas are popcorn

Answer 3

It's the distinction between the two types of birds. No major explanation, simply that. Hope it helps. A pigeon is a type of dove.