Click external link here for detailed species information
Click external link here to see distribution map and to hear calls The European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a migratory member of the family Columbidae, which includes doves as well as pigeons and is in the genus Streptopelia. It is a summer breeding resident in Europe (including the Canary Islands), parts of the Middle East, as well as western Asia and north Africa. It is absent as a breeding species from Iceland, Ireland (formally bred) and most of Scandinavia but does occur in spring and autumn as
an uncommon/rare overshooting migrant. Over much of its northern range,
there has been a very sharp decline in its population. In the autumn,
it migrates south to spend the winter in southern Africa. Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds |