Woodland Trust

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turtle dove

Streptopelia turtur



Facts

Why not download our turtle dove fact sheet?

turtle dove fact sheet

  • Britain’s smallest dove, about 26cm long
     
  • Back is a mix of black and brown, like a turtle’s shell
     
  • Greyish cap and rump
     
  • Pinkish breast
     
  • Black and white barring on the neck 
     
  • Easy to distinguish in flight due to narrow white tip at the end of the black tail
     
  • It is fast-flying

The song is a distinctive soft purring - click on the recording below to listen:
 

Where found

In open, wooded farmland, in hedgerows and woodland edges mainly in the south and east of Britain.
 

When to look for

A summer visitor from March onwards. Return migration begins in late August and peaks in September

Fabulous turtle dove facts

  • The only migratory dove in Europe

  • Turtle doves winter in west Africa, gathering in massive roosts of up to 1 million birds. They are remarkably tolerant of heat, having been observed foraging in temperatures of 45°C

  • They are monogamous, and pair for life

  • A clutch of two white eggs is laid, mostly in May and June, in a flimsy nest of twigs well hidden in scrub or thorny hedgerows. The male bird helps the female to incubate them

  • They feed on the seeds of cereals and weeds

  • Turtle doves are shot in huge numbers on migration in countries bordering the Mediterranean. It is estimated that as many as 2 – 4 million are shot and trapped as they pass through Europe
 
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