Herbicides to Blame for UK's Declining Turtle Dove Population

The number of turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur) breeding pairs in the UK has dropped to a record low of 14,000, making an 84 percent drop since 1995."The turtle dove is the fastest declining bird in the country [England] and within ten years we could lose this icon of the British countryside completely,” said a spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Turtle doves in the United Kingdom are found in just a few areas of Southern England and migrate during the winter toward Africa. Turtle doves are obligate granivors, feeding predominantly on seeds of certain arable weeds form farm countryside, such as fumitory, clover and vetch. However, increased herbicide use in England has decimated vegetation (considered “weeds”) that turtle doves have traditionally eaten. In the 1960’s, arable weeds, including fumitory and chickweed, made up more than 75 percent of the adult diet, but parents are now heavily reliant on cultivated wheat and oilseed corps.

Source: Ecowatch, Dec. 13, 2013
https://www.ecowatch.com/pesticides-to-blame-for-uks-declining-turtle-d…