Editing European turtle dove

{{Short description|Threatened or vulnerable species of bird}}
{{For|other species called turtle doves|Streptopelia}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = European turtle dove
| image = Turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur turtur) Hungary.jpg
| image2 = European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) (W STREPTOPELIA TURTUR R2 C3).ogg
| image2_caption = An adult in [[Hungary]] and song<br>recorded in [[Hampshire]], England
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref =<ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |year=2019 |title=''Streptopelia turtur'' |page=e.T22690419A154373407 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22690419A154373407.en |access-date=20 March 2022}}</ref>
| genus = Streptopelia
| species = turtur
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758)
| synonyms = *''Columba turtur'' ([[protonym]])
*''Turtur communis''<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://caliban.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/brehm/band5/high/IMG_9972.html|author=Brehm|encyclopedia=Die Vögel|volume=2|title=Turteltaube|year=1891|language=de}}</ref>
| range_map = StreptopeliaTurturIUCN.png
| range_map_caption = Range of ''S. turtur''
{{legend0|#00FF00|&nbsp;breeding|outline=gray}}&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;{{legend0|#007FFF|&nbsp;non-breeding|outline=gray}}
}}

The '''European turtle dove''' ('''''Streptopelia turtur''''') is a threatened or vulnerable member of the [[bird]] family [[Columbidae]], the doves and pigeons. It breeds over a wide area of the south western [[Palearctic]] including north Africa but migrates to northern sub-Saharan Africa to winter.

==Taxonomy==
The European turtle dove was [[Species description|formally described]] by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]''. He placed it with all the other pigeons in the [[genus]] ''[[Columba (genus)|Columba]]'' and coined the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Columba turtur''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume= 1 | edition=10th | page=164 | publisher=Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii | language=la | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727071 }}</ref> The [[specific epithet]] ''turtur'' is the Latin word for a turtle dove.{{sfn|Jobling|2010|p=393}} Linnaeus gave the locality as "India". This was an error, and the [[type locality (biology)|type locality]] has been designated as England.<ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1937 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=3 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts  | page=89 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14477804 }}</ref> The species is now placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Streptopelia]]'' that was introduced in 1855 by the French ornithologist [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte]].<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Bonaparte | first=Charles Lucien | author-link=Charles Lucien Bonaparte | year=1855 | title=Coup d'oeil sur les pigeons (quatrième partie) | language=fr | journal=Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences | volume=40 | pages=15–24 [17] | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4616570 }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | year=2020 | title=Pigeons | work=IOC World Bird List Version 10.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/pigeons/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=17 March 2020 }}</ref>

Four [[subspecies]] are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>
* ''S. t. turtur'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758) – Europe, Madeira and the Canary Islands to western Siberia
* ''S. t. arenicola'' ([[Ernst Hartert|Hartert]], 1894) – Northwest Africa to Iran and western China
* ''S. t. hoggara'' ([[Hans Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg|Geyr von Schweppenburg]], 1916) – [[Aïr Mountains|Air Massif]] and [[Hoggar Mountains]] (southern Sahara)
* ''S. t. rufescens'' ([[Christian Ludwig Brehm|Brehm, CL]], 1845) – Egypt and northern Sudan

Despite the identical spelling, the "turtle" of the name, derived from Middle English {{Lang|enm|turtle}} ({{lang|enm|tortle}}, {{lang|enm|turtel}}, {{lang|enm|turtul}}), derived in turn from Old English {{lang|ang|turtla}} (male turtle dove), {{Lang|ang|turtle}} (female turtle dove), and ultimately from Latin {{lang|la|turtur}}, has no connection with the [[turtle|reptile of the same name]]; in the present case, "turtle" came originally from [[Latin]] {{Lang|la|turtur}}, which is [[onomatopoeia|onomatopoeic]], imitating the bird's song.<ref name=OED>{{Cite OED | Turtle}}</ref><ref name=OED2>{{Cite OED | Turtur}}</ref> The genus name ''Streptopelia'' is from [[Ancient Greek]] {{Lang|grc|streptos}} meaning "collar", and {{Lang|grc|peleia}} meaning "dove".{{sfn|Jobling|2010|p=367}}

A few other doves in the genus ''Streptopelia'' and the related genus ''Nesoenas'' are also commonly called "turtle doves", while the name ''[[Turtur]]'' has also been given as a generic name to a less-closely related group of tropical African doves:<ref name=ioc/>
*[[Oriental turtle dove]] ''Streptopelia orientalis'' in Asia.
*[[Dusky turtle dove]] ''Streptopelia lugens'' in Africa.
*[[Adamawa turtle dove]] ''Streptopelia hypopyrrha'' in Africa.
*[[Malagasy turtle dove]] ''Nesoenas picturatus'' in Madagascar.

==Description==
Smaller and slighter in build than many other [[dove]]s, it measures {{cvt|26|-|28|cm}} in length, {{cvt|47|-|53|cm}} in wingspan and weighs {{cvt|100|-|156|g}}.{{sfn|Cramp|1985|pp=353, 362}} The European turtle dove may be recognised by its browner colour, and the black-and-white-striped patch on the side of its neck. The tail is notable as the bird flies from the observer; it is wedge-shaped, with a dark centre and white borders and tips. When viewed from below, this pattern, owing to the white under-tail coverts obscuring the dark bases, is a blackish chevron on a white ground. This can be seen when the bird stoops to drink and raises its spread tail.

The mature bird has the head, neck, flanks, and rump blue-grey, and the wings cinnamon, mottled with black. The breast is vinaceous, the abdomen and under tail coverts are white. The bill is black, the legs and eye rings are red. The black and white patch on the side of the neck is absent in the browner and duller juvenile bird, which also has brown legs.

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px" mode="packed">
File:2006 1031turturduva0224.JPG|Juvenile in [[Nynäshamn]], Sweden
File:Tourterelle des bois MHNT.jpg|alt=Egg in the collection of [[Muséum de Toulouse]]
Streptopelia turtur arenicola MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.232.59.jpg|''Streptopelia turtur arenicola'' - [[MHNT]]
</gallery>

==Distribution and habitat==
The turtle dove is a [[bird migration|migratory]] species with a western [[Palearctic]] range covering most of Europe and the Middle East and including [[Turkey]] and [[north Africa]], although it is rare in northern [[Scandinavia]] and [[Russia]]. It winters south of the Sahara.<ref name=IUCN/> It is one of the latest migrants, rarely appearing in Northern Europe before the end of April and returning south again in September.{{sfn|Cramp|1985|p=356}} Turtle doves are rare [[Vagrancy (biology)|vagrants]] in North America, with records from [[Massachusetts]] and [[Florida]] in the [[United States]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Veit |first=R. |date=2009 |title=First Record of European Turtle-Dove (''Streptopelia turtur'') for Massachusetts |url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/First-Record-of-European-Turtle-Dove-turtur%3C-i%3E)-Veit/263821d93a91603e1c4c9d9e3a6ebd130555817a#:~:text=This%20article%20documents%20a%20record%20of%20European,Turde-Dove%20(Streptopelia%20turtur)%20from%20Tuckernuck%20Island,%20Nantucket, |journal=North American Birds |volume=60 |issue=2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hoffman |first=Wayne |last2=Smith |first2=P. William |last3=Wells |first3=Pat |date=1990 |title=A Record of the European Turtle-Dove in the Florida Keys |url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/FFN_18-4p88-90Hoffman%5B1%5D.pdf |journal=Florida Field Naturalist |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=88–90}}</ref> and an additional record from [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dunn |first=Jon Lloyd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MKEwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA547 |title=Field Guide to the Birds of North America |date=2017 |publisher=National Geographic Books |isbn=978-1-4262-1835-4 |page=547 |language=en}}</ref>

It is a bird of open rather than dense woodlands, and frequently feeds on the ground. It will occasionally nest in large gardens, but is usually extremely timid, probably due to the heavy hunting pressure it faces during migration. The flight is often described as arrowy, but is not remarkably swift.

The nuptial flight, high and circling, is like that of the [[common wood pigeon]], but the undulations are less decided; it is accompanied by the whip-crack of the downward flicked wings. The arrival in spring is heralded by its [[wikt:coo#Verb|coo]]ing or [[purr]]ing song, a rather deep, vibrating "{{Not a typo|''turrr, turrr''}}".

==Status==
Populations of turtle dove are in rapid decline across Europe and this species has a red-listed global conservation status. In the [[United Kingdom]] its numbers have declined by 93% since 1994 and across Europe numbers fell by 78% 1980–2013.<ref name="bto.org">[https://www.bto.org/about-bto/press-releases/turtle-dove-population-tailspin British Trust for Ornithology - Turtle Dove Population in a Tailspin]</ref>

Environmentalist groups have attributed the decline of turtle doves in Europe partly to changed farming practices which mean that the weed seeds and shoots on which it feeds, especially [[fumitory]], are scarcer, and partly due to shooting of birds in [[Mediterranean]] countries. According to a 2001 study cited by the European Commission, between two and four million birds are shot annually in Malta, Cyprus, France, Italy, Spain and Greece.<ref>{{cite news|title=Scientists warn of impending turtle dove British extinction|url=http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/lifestyle/environment/48705/scientists_warn_of_impending_turtle_dove_british_extinction#.VTT0-md0yUk|access-date=20 April 2015|work=Malta Today}}</ref><ref>Lutz, Marc (2007) [http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/wildbirds/hunting/docs/turtle_dove.pdf#22 MANAGEMENT PLAN for TURTLE DOVE (''Streptopelia turtur'') 2007–2009]. Technical Report – 007 – 2007. Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. European Commission. p. 22.</ref> Environmentalists have described spring hunting in Malta as particularly problematic as it is the only country with an EU [[derogation]] to shoot birds during their spring migration to breeding grounds.<ref>{{cite news|title=Malta votes in referendum on controversial spring shooting of migrating birds|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/malta/11529741/Malta-votes-in-referendum-on-controversial-spring-shooting-of-migrating-birds.html|access-date=20 April 2015|work=Daily Telegraph|agency=Reuters}}</ref>

According to a 2007 study by the [[European Commission]], four currently identifiable potential threats to the turtle dove are (1) [[habitat loss]]/modification (medium to low impact), (2) [[drought]]s and [[climate change]] (mostly unknown but likely low impact), (3) [[hunting]] (partly unknown but overall medium impact), and (4) competition with the [[collared dove]] (unknown impact).<ref>Lutz, Marc (2007) [http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/wildbirds/hunting/docs/turtle_dove.pdf#22 MANAGEMENT PLAN for TURTLE DOVE (''Streptopelia turtur'') 2007–2009]. Technical Report – 007 – 2007. Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. European Commission. p. 20.</ref> The [[British Trust for Ornithology]] has also highlighted [[Trichomonosis]] parasites as a threat to the turtle dove.<ref name="bto.org"/>

A hunting ban was introduced in 2021 by the European Commission in the western Mediterranean countries of France, Spain and Portugal, which resulted in the species starting to undergo population recovery; in summer 2024, there was a 25% increase in the western European breeding population, indicating that hunting was indeed a major contributor to the decline.<ref name="OTD">{{cite web |title=Big news – Turtle Dove numbers in Western Europe are on the up! |url=https://www.operationturtledove.org/2024/08/08/big-news-turtle-dove-numbers-in-western-europe-are-on-the-up/ |website=Operation Turtle Dove |publisher=Operation Turtle Dove in partnership with the RSPB, Pensthorpe Conservation Trust and Natural England |access-date=2024-08-11}}</ref>

==In culture==
[[File:SophieAnderson TheTurtleDoveSmall.jpg|thumb|''The Turtle Dove'' by [[Sophie Gengembre Anderson]]]]

According to [[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], the turtle dove was sacred to [[Demeter]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/DemeterTreasures.html|title=DEMETER ESTATE & ATTRIBUTES – Greek Mythology}}</ref>  In [[Roman mythology]], the turtle dove was one of the emblems of [[Fides (deity)|Fides]], the goddess of trust and good faith.<ref name="peck">{{cite book|author=Harry Thurston Peck |date=1898 |title=Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities |chapter=Fides (2) |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DF%3Aentry+group%3D3%3Aentry%3Dfides2-harpers |access-date=2015-12-21 |location=New York |publisher=Harper and Brothers}}</ref><ref name="smith">{{DGRBM|author=LS |title=Fides |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DF%3Aentry+group%3D3%3Aentry%3Dfides-bio-1}}</ref>

Perhaps because of Biblical references &ndash; especially verse 2: 12 from the [[Song of Songs]] "the voice of the turtle [dove] is heard in our land" &ndash; its mournful voice, and the fact that it forms strong [[pair bond]]s, European turtle doves have become emblems of devoted love. In the [[New Testament]], two turtle doves are mentioned as the [[Pidyon haben|customary offering]] during the [[Presentation of Jesus at the Temple]].<ref name=RockSwag>[http://www.rocketswag.com/animal/birds/doves/Meaning-Of-Turtle-Doves.html "Meaning Of Turtle Doves."] Rocketswag.com. Rocketswag.com, 2012.</ref>  In Renaissance Europe, the European turtle dove was envisaged as the devoted partner of the [[Phoenix (mythology)|Phoenix]]. [[Robert Chester (poet)|Robert Chester]]'s poem ''Love's Martyr'' is a sustained exploration of this symbolism. It was published along with other poems on the subject, including [[William Shakespeare]]'s poem "[[The Phoenix and the Turtle]]", where "turtle" refers to the turtle dove.

The turtle dove is featured in a number of [[folk song]]s about love and loss, including "[[There Is a Tavern in the Town]]". One of these is a setting by [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams |year=1992 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=178 |isbn=0-19-816330-4 |first1=Michael |last1=Kennedy |first2=Ralph Vaughan |last2=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qzlj-LaQzvEC&pg=PA177 }}</ref>

Turtle doves are also featured in the song, "[[The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|The Twelve Days of Christmas]]", as the gift "my true love gave to me" on the second and subsequent days of Christmas.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1126/12-days-of-Christmas-cost-How-much-is-a-partridge-in-a-pear-tree | title='12 days of Christmas' cost: How much is a partridge in a pear tree? | publisher=The Christian Science Monitor | date=November 26, 2012 | access-date=8 May 2014 | author=The Associated Press}}</ref>

Turtle doves appear in the title and lyrics of the [[Spiritual (music)|spiritual]] "Turtledove Done Drooped His Wings" from the Georgia [[Sea Islands]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=35605|title=Origin: Turtledove Done Drooped His Wings|first=Max|last=Spiegel}}</ref><ref>audio clip: [http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/www_publicradio/tools/media_player/popup.php?name=phc/2010/02/20/phc_20100220_64&starttime=00:47:48&endtime=00:51:11 Lafayette/ Turtle Dove] – [[Peter Ostroushko]], Shoe Band, GK and Andra Suchy, 2/20/2010</ref>

In the [[Shakers|Shaker]] hymn "In Yonder Valley", that "the turtledove is in our land" is seen as a good omen and sign of growth.

== References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book | editor1-last=Cramp | editor1-first=Stanley | editor1-link=Stanley Cramp | year=1985 | chapter=''Streptopelia turtur'' Turtle dove | title=Handbook of the Birds of Europe the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Volume IV: Terns to Woodpeckers | place=Oxford | publisher=Oxford University Press | pages=353–363 | isbn=978-0-19-857507-8 }}
* {{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling }}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikispecies|Streptopelia turtur}}
* [https://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Streptopelia-turtur Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the European turtle dove]
* [http://blascozumeta.com/wp-content/uploads/aragon-birds/non-passeriformes/263.turtledove-sturtur.pdf Ageing and sexing by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720091320/http://blascozumeta.com/wp-content/uploads/aragon-birds/non-passeriformes/263.turtledove-sturtur.pdf |date=2021-07-20 }}
* [http://www.ornithos.de/Ornithos/Feather_Collection/Streptopelia_turtur/Streptopelia_turtur.htm Feathers of turtle dove (''Streptopelia turtur'')] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304100118/http://www.ornithos.de/Ornithos/Feather_Collection/Streptopelia_turtur/Streptopelia_turtur.htm |date=2018-03-04 }}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q168514}}
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[[Category:Birds of Europe]]
[[Category:Birds of North Africa]]
[[Category:Birds of the Canary Islands]]
[[Category:Birds of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Birds of West Asia]]
[[Category:Wintering birds of Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758|European turtle dove]]
[[Category:Streptopelia|European turtle dove]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|European turtle dove]]