History Insights - The Eglinton Dovecote, Irvine

Dovecots, doocots or culverhouses were built on country estates to house pigeons and doves. The squabs or squeakers and the adults were produced as food for the table and the feathers were used for bedding, etc. The use of dovecots was carefully controlled due to the amount of food that they took from the fields.

[@AllenCrawford3]

Specialized structures like these are fascinating. This one reminds me of the shadowboxes made by Joseph Cornell, some of which he called "dovecotes".

[@rogergriffith286]

I should call them doocots!