Where does it live?

The European turtle dove is a migratory bird.  From late April to August it can be found all the way from England to northern Africa and from Portugal into Western Russia.  Its arrival in the spring in Europe is announced by its deep, vibrating "turrrr, turrr" mating song from where it received its name. It spends its winters in a small band of sub-Saharan Africa.

 

 

 

Map showing typical regions where the

turtle dove lives. The green shows the  

summer mating grounds and the          

yellow represents its winter grounds.    

Map edited from Avibirds European.     

 

 

 

 

The European turtle dove lives in a wide variety of habitats including steppe, semi-desert, and a variety of forest types.  Typically, it prefers more open, sunny, dry areas with bushes or trees found in clumps to nest. The turtle dove can also be found on the edges of forests, including oak and juniper forests.  It nests in the trees, but typically feeds on the ground.  Generally turtle doves stay away from cities and are shy around humans.