European Turtle Dove

Streptopelia turtur

Photo by Steve G
Dehesa, Caceres province, Spain

Identification

30cm.

• Grey brown plumage
• Sides of head are yellow
• Pink neck and breast
• Grey blue nape, crown, flanks and rump
• Cinnamon wings with black mottling
• White belly and undertail coverts
• Red eye rim
• Red legs and toes

Juvenile
Photo by Andy T
Motney Hill, Rainham, Kent

Similar Species

Oriental Turtle-Dove is probably the biggest problem, especially birds of subspecies meena

Distribution

Western Palearctic to northern Afghanistan. Winters south to southern Africa.

Taxonomy

This is a polytypic species, consisting of four subspecies:

• S. t. turtur:

• Azores, Canary Islands and Europe to western Siberia and Kazakhstan

• S. t. arenicola:

• Balearic Islands and north-western Africa to Iran and extreme western China

• S. t. hoggara:

• Southern Sahara (Aïr Massif and Hoggar Mountains)

• S. t. rufescens:

• Egypt (Dakhla and Kharga oases) and northern Sudan (Faiyûm)

Habitat

Open woodlands.

Behaviour

Its nest is built from twigs and is placed in a tree. The clutch consists of 2 white eggs which are incubated by both sexes.

Vocalisation

<flashmp3>Streptopelia turtur (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Birdforum thread discussing identification of European Turtle-Dove vs meena Oriental Turtle-Dove
3. The Free Online Dictionary
4. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) European Turtle Dove. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/European_Turtle_Dove

External Links

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