Bird Album
European Turtle Dove
Streptopelia turtur (Linnaeus, 1758)
26–28 cmLength50 cmWingspan132 gWeight
The adult has black-and-white striped patches on the side of the neck and cinnamon wings with black markings.
Busiest months: May · Most records: Spain, Israel, United Kingdom
How to identify
Field marks
- Adult: black-and-white striped patches on side of neck
- Adult: head and neck blue-gray
- Adult: cinnamon wings with black markings
- Tail wedge-shaped, with white edges and tip
Male, female and young
Juvenile is browner and duller, lacks the black-and-white neck patches, and also has brown legs and feet.
Voice
A low song with a trill, like “turrr, turrr”.
Where and when it's recorded
European Turtle Dove has been recorded at 1,062 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 98 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
To protect this bird from disturbance, we don't list exact sites.
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
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.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the European Turtle Dove?
The European Turtle Dove is about 26–28 cm long, with a wingspan of 50 cm and weighs around 132 g.
Where does the European Turtle Dove live?
Its breeding range: Palearctic: western, central. It is most often recorded in Spain, Israel and United Kingdom.
When is the best time to see the European Turtle Dove?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in May (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the European Turtle Dove endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the European Turtle Dove as Vulnerable.
What does the European Turtle Dove eat?
Main food: Seeds.
What family is the European Turtle Dove in?
It belongs to the family Pigeons, Doves (Columbidae), order Columbiformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 26–28 cm
- Wingspan
- 50 cm
- Weight
- 132 g
- Habitat
- Woodland
- Diet
- Seeds
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Migratory
- Conservation
- Vulnerable
More measurements
- Wing
- 171 mm
- Tail
- 110 mm
- Bill
- 22 mm
- Tarsus
- 22 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Palearctic: western, central
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Subspecies · 1
- Streptopelia turtur arenicola nw Africa to Iran and w China
Classification
- Order
- Columbiformes
- Family
- Pigeons, Doves Columbidae
- Genus
- Streptopelia
Other birds in the genus Streptopelia
Dusky Turtle DoveStreptopelia lugens
Adamawa Turtle DoveStreptopelia hypopyrrha
Oriental Turtle DoveStreptopelia orientalis
Sunda Collared DoveStreptopelia bitorquata
Philippine Collared DoveStreptopelia dusumieri
Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
Burmese Collared DoveStreptopelia xanthocycla
African Collared DoveStreptopelia roseogrisea
White-winged Collared DoveStreptopelia reichenowi
Mourning Collared DoveStreptopelia decipiens
Red-eyed DoveStreptopelia semitorquata
Ring-necked DoveStreptopelia capicola
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by gernotkunz. ↗
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