Turtle doves decrease at an alarming rate in the UK

1364

UK Today News: For years, the turtle doves have been considered to be the symbol of love and peace. But sadly, the number of birds of these species is decreasing day by day and their sightings are becoming a rare thing as each year passes. Several surveys have also indicated that the number of these birds have decreased to almost half in number in the UK itself.

The report has been revealed in the Atlas of Breeding Birds of Britain and Ireland and the surveys states that the birds have vanished from more than 40 percent of the places.

According to Dr. Danae Sheehan, a scientist from the RSPB conservation, the number of turtle doves has decreased up to 71% in Britain. Sheehan said that the number is indeed not good and there can be various factors that can be responsible for the decline. The scientists said that the results may be due to the changing farming conditions in Britain. The changing conditions have thus affected the breeding of the birds. The turtle doves are migratory species and live on small seeds. The doves spend the warm months in Europe, while they prefer to be in the sub-Saharan Africa. The reduction in their number may be due to the destruction of their homes in Africa. The other causes may also be the change in the climatic conditions and increasing pollution levels across the globe.