In Scottish speech and poetry, “cushie” (also found in “cushie doo”) names a dove or pigeon, often the wood pigeon, whose soft call is suggested by the word. It is a Dialect term rather than a formal literary device, but it can add local colour, musical sound, and a sense of rural Scottish life to a poem. The word often evokes the gentle cooing associated with doves and pigeons.

“Cushie doo” is a common Scots expression for a pigeon or dove; the plural is “cushie doos.” The related Scots word “cushat” also means a wood pigeon. “Cooing” is especially appropriate because it imitates or describes the low, repeated call of pigeons and doves. In standard English, a poet would more commonly write “doves” or “pigeons,” but “cushie doos” gives Murray’s poem a distinctly Scottish Dialect voice. Do not confuse “cushie” with a general term for any bird: its usual meaning is specifically a pigeon or dove.