This actually reminds me of a debate I got into with Fr. Hewko (before his ordination) at STAS.  St. Thomas Aquinas actually argued that the dove was a real, actual dove.  I disagreed with that and felt that He only took on the appearance of a dove (Latin word here is specie ... which derives from the word to see/look and can mean either one).  I felt that this opinion of St. Thomas opened up a highly problematic can of worms.  Did the Holy Ghost just animate an existing dove or create a new one for Him to inhabit?  Was the dove dead or did the Holy Ghost "possess" an living dove?  If both the existing dove was there and the Holy Ghost, was there some other mystery of Incarnation here?  So after the Holy Ghost left the dove, did it cease to exist, did it drop dead?  Unless it ceased to exist, we'd be in search of some priceless holy relic.  In fact, unless it ceased to exist (if it was real at all), I'm sure Our Lord's disciples would have snatched it up to keep as a relic.  I felt it led to so many logical problems that I disagree with St. Thomas here and said it was just in the form or appearance of a dove, not somehow in or united to an actual dove (with or without its own animal soul).  In any case, Fr. Hewko was shocked and almost scandalized that I would disagree with St. Thomas.  I pointed out that St. Thomas was not infallible and that this was clearly a point of speculative theology that people could have varying opinions about without harm to faith or running afoul (pun intended at this time) of Revelation or the Magisterium ... but he wasn't convinced.

Which story are you talking about -- Noah or Jesus' baptism?

Noah released the dove from the ark and it flew back with the olive branch.  It was a real dove.  God simply guided the dove back to the ark (like He has guided many animals in history).  The dove was acting like a dove.  It flew out, it grabbed a branch and flew back.  Nothing contrary to a dove's essence.  I fail to see the need for the Holy Ghost to animate this bird.

In the case of Jesus' baptism, the dove landed on his head (or hovered above, or both).  This is what doves do (or can do).  Nothing miraculous or out-of-character for the bird.  But God probably guided the dove where and when to land/hover.

Which story are you talking about -- Noah or Jesus' baptism?

Noah released the dove from the ark and it flew back with the olive branch.  It was a real dove.  God simply guided the dove back to the ark (like He has guided many animals in history).  The dove was acting like a dove.  It flew out, it grabbed a branch and flew back.  Nothing contrary to a dove's essence.  I fail to see the need for the Holy Ghost to animate this bird.

In the case of Jesus' baptism, the dove landed on his head (or hovered above, or both).  This is what doves do (or can do).  Nothing miraculous or out-of-character for the bird.  But God probably guided the dove where and when to land/hover.

So, the latter.  Scripture said that was the Holy Ghost descending, not a dove doing its thing.  So there's an unspoken relationship between the Holy Ghost or a dove.  You're suggesting that it just acted independently.  OK, then where does the Holy Ghost fit in there?  Nobody said descending on Our Lord's head was miraculous behavior, just that since it was in fact the Holy Ghost doing this, where did the Holy Ghost "end", as it were, and the dove begin.  I hold that the Holy Ghost simply appeared in the form/appearance of a dove, just so that His action can be seen, and not that there was a real living dove involved.

Yeah, I don't know.  I've not heard this debate before.  I see your point.

https://wol.jw.org/fr/wol/d/r30/lp-f/1962928

AI Translation.

I know nothing of this web site, but he is agreeing with the Angelic Doctor.
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Questions from readers

Was the dove that descended upon Jesus at the time of His baptism a materialized representation, or a mirage, or simply a moment of sudden calm? And why was a dove chosen, when we know that the pagans were using it? C., United States.

Answer:
It was a materialized bird, a dove, which descended from the sky and stopped at Jesus at the moment of his baptism. It appears that a material form has been seen when one reads the words of John the Baptist, as reported in John 1:32-34: “I beheld the Spirit descending from heaven as a dove and abode upon Him. And I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water, He said to me: The one on whom you will see the spirit descending and abiding upon Him, He it is who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I saw, and I testified that He is the Son of God. ”

The purpose of the coming of this materialized dove was to convince John the Baptist that Jesus was truly the Messiah, the Son of God, and this by means of one of his senses, the sight. This fact had to strike his eyes like the following words: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have put all my affection," should strike another of his senses, the hearing. 3:17.

This representation of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove recalls the manifestation of Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2:1-4. The latter took the form of visible “ tongues of fire” which came to each of the 120 assistants in the upper chamber in Jerusalem. Naturally, they were not burning flames, but “tongues as if they were fire,” otherwise they would have burned those on whom they alighted. It will be noted, however, that it was a visible fact, the same that Moses lived in the burning bush at the moment when Jehovah God called him and charged him with freeing his people from the bonds of slavery. 3:2.

As for the choice of a dove as a symbol, it is in harmony with the rest of the Scriptures. It was a dove that Noah sent and returned with an olive branch, thus showing that the waters of the flood had receded (Gen. 8:8-12). Lovers of the Song of Songs are reciprocally called "dove" (Cant. des Cant. 2:14; 5:125:12). Jesus again recommended to his disciples to be “simple like doves.” – Mat. 10:16.