Rene Pierce, age 11, of Carmen, Okla., for her question:

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DOVE AND A PIGEON?

Scientists have traced the fossil records and have found that the members of the pigeon and dove families go back more than 40 million years. The birds are found in every part of the world with the exception of the north and south polar regions. One member of this large family is now extinct: the famous dodo bird.

A total of 289 different species make up the large

 pigeon family. Two thirds of the varieties are found only in Oriental and Australasian regions.

There is no technical significance to the terms "pigeon" and ''dove.'' The names are used interchangeably throughout the whole family. In general, the word pigeon refers to larger, chunkier types that have square or rounded tails, and dove refers to the smaller, more graceful types that have pointed tails. Whether a species is called a dove or a pigeon in its vernacular name actually depends on usage and local custom, nothing more. You're talking about the exact same family in either case.

Pigeons live almost completely from a diet of fruit, seeds and grain with acorns and some leaves added occasionally. A few species like grubs, worms and insects.

Pigeons and doves are the only birds in the world that are able to suck up water as they drink. They dunk their beaks in water and drink their fill while all other birds find it necessary to raise their heads in order to swallow each beak full.

Members of the family build flimsy platform nests of sticks on which they lay between one and three eggs. Mother usually sits on the nest during the night while father draws the incubation duty during the day. After 12 days for the  small species and almost four weeks for the giants, the young hatch naked and with closed eyes.

Both mom and dad feed the young an item called pigeon's milk. During incubation the lining of the pigeon's crop thickens and the lining sloughs off into a cheesy curd. This substance is then regurgitated into the young birds by the parents. To obtain the food, the young birds must poke their beaks inside the throats of the parents. As they grow older, the diet for the young becomes half digested grain from the crop.

Young pigeons and doves are ready to leave the nest anywhere between two and three weeks after hatching.

Pigeons were probably the first wild birds man domesticated. Mention of them is made in ancient scrolls. They are easy to raise and maintain. As an item of food, the pigeon changes his name to squab.