The turtle dove is on the high road to extinction in Britain; it may be gone within a decade

Extinction is one of the great tragedies of our times. The creature concerned is the turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur), the loveliest member of the pigeon family, and a bird prominent in folklore for thousands of years: its gentle purring call is mentioned in the Bible and its reputation as a symbol of fidelity has been celebrated by everyone from Chaucer to Buddy Holly. But in Britain, it is now our fastest-declining bird: just in the lifetime of one of today’s middle-aged birdwatchers, it has dropped in numbers by a staggering 96 per cent. In 1970 there were probably about 250,000 pairs of turtle doves nesting in Britain every summer (they spend the winter in Africa, like swallows), but now there are only between 8,000 and 9,000 pairs and the bird is halving in numbers every six years. The speed of its decline is unheard of.

Source: Michael McCarthy in The Independent, 13 July 2015
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/nature-studies-the-turtle-d…