Streptopelia turtur
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
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 in winter.
The European turtle dove was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other pigeons in the genus Columba and coined the binomial name Columba turtur. The specific epithet turtur is the Latin word for a turtle dove. Linnaeus gave the locality as "India". This was an error, and the type locality has been designated as England. The species is now placed in the genus Streptopelia that was introduced in 1855 by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte.
Four subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Kiskunság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Niokolo-Koba National Park | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 4 | Hortobágy National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 5 | Camargue | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Monfragüe National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 8 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 11 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natura Artis Magistra | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 2 | Zoo Pilsen | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 3 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Berlin Zoological Garden | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Dierenpark Hoenderdaell | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 7 | Wrocław Zoological Garden | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 8 | Diergaarde Blijdorp | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 9 | Bristol Zoo Project | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 10 | Hanover Zoo | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Birdworld | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 12 | Tierpark Hexentanzplatz | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 13 | Santillana Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 14 | Birdland Park and Gardens | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 15 | Storchenstation | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 16 | Africarium | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 17 | Oceanium | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 18 | Aquarium Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 19 | Cologne Zoo Aquarium | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 20 | Landgoed Hoenderdaell | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 21 | terrarium ogrodu zoologicznego we Wrocławiu | 🇵🇱 Poland |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a European Turtle Dove sighting in London on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 186th most-seen of the 203 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a European Turtle Dove in London on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most European Turtle Dove sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
26th of 26
Of the 26 cities where we can rate European Turtle Dove sightings, London ranks 26th at under 5%. The best odds are in Marrakesh (Morocco, about 20%), Tel Aviv (Israel, about 20%) and Fez (Morocco, about 10%).
Same family: Columbidae
The closest relatives of the European Turtle Dove that you can see in London (family Columbidae, Pigeons and Doves) are Wood Pigeon (about 90%), Rock Pigeon (about 70%) and Stock Dove (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the European Turtle Dove is recorded against all the birds logged in London (11 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
