BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Turtle Dove

TURTLE DOVE
Streptopelia turtur

• Population
changes

• Productivity
trends

• Additional
information

Conservation listings

Europe: SPEC category 3 (declining)
UK: red (>50% population decline)
UK Biodiversity Action Plan: click here

Long-term trend

UK, England: rapid decline

UK population size

44,000 territories in 2000 (1988–91 Atlas estimate updated using CBC/BBS trend: BiE04, APEP06)

Status summary

The CBC/BBS trend is of severe declines in Turtle Dove abundance, beginning in the late 1970s and continuing to the present. Hunting during migration is a possible cause of the UK decline, to add to those related to agricultural intensification that have been postulated for other farmland seed-eaters (O'Connor & Shrubb 1986, Krebs et al. 1999). Analysis of nest record cards and ringing data for farmland Turtle Doves suggests, although without statistical significance, that productivity per nesting attempt has increased while annual survival has fallen (Siriwardena et al. 2000a, 2000b, Browne et al. 2005). Browne & Aebischer (2004, 2005) conclude that Turtle Doves today have a substantially earlier close to the breeding season and consequently produce barely half the number of clutches and young per pair they did in the 1960s. Thus, the recovery of Turtle Doves in Britain would benefit from the provision and sympathetic management of nesting as well as foraging habitats. Turtle Dove is one of the most strongly declining bird species in Europe, having decreased at an annual rate of 4% during 1980–2005 (PECBMS 2007). Conditions in winter may also be influencing trends: a recent study has demonstrated a positive correlation between survival rate among breeding adults in France and food supply in West Africa, as measured by cereal production (Eraud et al. 2009).

Population changes

Table of population changes for Turtle Dove

Source	Period (yrs)	Years	Plots (n)	Change (%)	Lower limit	Upper limit	Alert
CBC/BBS UK	39	1967-2006	106	-85	-90	-76	>50
	25	1981-2006	123	-82	-88	-75	>50
	10	1996-2006	199	-58	-62	-51	>50
	5	2001-2006	157	-40	-47	-31	>25
CBC/BBS England	39	1967-2006	105	-85	-91	-76	>50
	25	1981-2006	122	-82	-88	-74	>50
	10	1996-2006	195	-57	-62	-51	>50
	5	2001-2006	155	-40	-47	-30	>25
BBS UK	11	1995-2006	182	-60	-66	-54	>50
	10	1996-2006	184	-58	-63	-51	>50
	5	2001-2006	157	-40	-46	-32	>25
BBS England	11	1995-2006	179	-60	-65	-52	>50
	10	1996-2006	181	-57	-63	-50	>50
	5	2001-2006	155	-40	-48	-31	>25

Productivity trends

Table of productivity changes for Turtle Dove

Variable	Period (yrs)	Years	Mean annual sample	Trend	Comment
Clutch size	38	1968-2006	12	None	Small sample
Brood size	38	1968-2006	16	None	Small sample
Daily failure rate (eggs)	38	1968-2006	16	None	Small sample
Daily failure rate (chicks)	38	1968-2006	12	None	Small sample
Laying date	38	1968-2006	13	None	Small sample

Insufficient data on CES
available for this species

Additional information


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This report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Leech, D.I., Joys, A.C., Noble, D.G., Barimore, C., Grantham, M.J., Risely, K. & Robinson, R.A. (2009). Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2008. BTO Research Report No. 516. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends) Pages maintained by Iain Downie, Mandy T Andrews and Laura Smith: Last updated 18.02.2009