Two turtle doves

By Charlotte Owen

WildCall Officer

As we continue our festive foray into the wild gifts of The Twelve Days of Christmas, which began – of course - with a partridge in a pear tree, the next avian offering is a pair of turtle doves.

These beautiful, dainty birds pair for life and are particularly affectionate, perching closely together and gently purring to their partner as they nuzzle in for a cuddle.  They have long been a symbol of love and fidelity and have inspired poets, artists and musicians alike, so presenting your one true love with a bonded pair of turtle doves would be the ultimate romantic gesture – except that these birds are now heart-wrenchingly rare.

They are summer visitors to the UK, migrating 6,000 miles from West Africa to raise a family here in the south east of England, but each year there are fewer and fewer arrivals.  Their numbers have declined so drastically - by 91% in the UK since 1995 - that they are now on the brink of extinction.  Turtle doves are still hunted along their migration route, with a shocking estimate of 2 – 3 million birds shot each year in Europe alone, but they are also struggling due to habitat loss.  Here in the UK, one of the key limiting factors is food availability.  Turtle doves have a strictly seed-based diet and since we’ve wiped out all the weeds, there just isn’t enough food to be found in our intensively-managed modern landscapes.  As a result ‘our’ turtle doves are now producing half as many chicks as they were in the 1970s.

The good news is that turtle doves can still be heard in Sussex and the Adur Valley is a particular stronghold.  They usually arrive in April and like to nest in tall, mature hedgerows and dense scrub, where they can be tricky to spot.  They look like colourful collared doves with dark tail feathers, a dusky pink chest and a golden-brown ‘tortoiseshell’ pattern on their back – but no, this isn’t the reason for their reptilian name, which has nothing to do with turtles.  It actually derives from the bird’s Latin title Streptopelia turtur, in recognition of the dove’s distinctive ‘turrr-turrr’ call.

You can Adopt A Turtle Dove here