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Turtle Dove
The European turtle dove is a member of the bird family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It breeds over a wide area of the south western Palearctic which includes north Africa but migrates to northern sub-Saharan Africa to winter.
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The turtle dove is a migratory species with a western Palearctic range covering most of Europe and the Middle East and including Turkey and north Africa, although it is rare in northern Scandinavia and Russia. It winters south of the Sahara.
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The turtle dove, one of the latest migrants, rarely appears in Northern Europe before the end of April, returning south again in September.
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It is a bird of open rather than dense woodlands, and frequently feeds on the ground. It will occasionally nest in large gardens, but is usually extremely timid, probably due to the heavy hunting pressure it faces during migration. The flight is often described as arrowy, but is not remarkably swift.
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The nuptial flight, high and circling, is like that of the common wood pigeon, but the undulations are less decided, it is accompanied by the whip-crack of the downward flicked wings. The arrival in spring is heralded by its cooing or purring song, a rather deep, vibrating “turrr, turrr”.
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Populations of turtle dove are in rapid decline across Europe and this species has red list conservation status globally. In the United Kingdom its numbers have declined by 93% since 1994 and across Europe numbers fell by 78% 1980–2013.
Turtle Dove
The European turtle dove is a member of the bird family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It breeds over a wide area of the south western Palearctic which includes north Africa but migrates to northern sub-Saharan Africa to winter.
:::::
The turtle dove is a migratory species with a western Palearctic range covering most of Europe and the Middle East and including Turkey and north Africa, although it is rare in northern Scandinavia and Russia. It winters south of the Sahara.
:::::
The turtle dove, one of the latest migrants, rarely appears in Northern Europe before the end of April, returning south again in September.
:::::
It is a bird of open rather than dense woodlands, and frequently feeds on the ground. It will occasionally nest in large gardens, but is usually extremely timid, probably due to the heavy hunting pressure it faces during migration. The flight is often described as arrowy, but is not remarkably swift.
:::::
The nuptial flight, high and circling, is like that of the common wood pigeon, but the undulations are less decided, it is accompanied by the whip-crack of the downward flicked wings. The arrival in spring is heralded by its cooing or purring song, a rather deep, vibrating “turrr, turrr”.
:::::
Populations of turtle dove are in rapid decline across Europe and this species has red list conservation status globally. In the United Kingdom its numbers have declined by 93% since 1994 and across Europe numbers fell by 78% 1980–2013.