European turtle dove
Streptopelia turtur
A small migratory dove with chestnut-and-black scaly upperparts and a black-and-white striped neck patch. Confirmed in Georgia as a breeding migrant on the 2024 national bird checklist; Vulnerable globally and nationally on that list.
At a glance
Key facts in one look
Diet
Seeds
Status in Georgia
Breeding migrant
Size
26–28 cm
Habitat
Scrub and farmland edge
Family
Columbidae
Conservation
VU
Human interaction: It is not a threat to people. It is not venomous. Do not catch, keep, or hunt wild birds. Leave nests alone. On the current DES season list this species is not a game bird; do not confuse it with collared dove, which is listed separately.
Overview
What is European turtle dove
The European turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a small dove (family Columbidae) confirmed in Georgia as a breeding migrant. The 2024 annotated checklist of the birds of Georgia codes it BB; M: a breeder absent in the non-breeding season, and also a bird of passage. The Iliauni SPA country checklist also codes it BB, M. Seasonality is classed as high-quality (code A). Occurrence quality is high (H), with photographs and checklist evidence. Adults are about 26–28 cm long at species level. The usual Georgian name is გვრიტი; ჩვეულებრივი გვრიტი is also used in official documents. It is not a threat to people. IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable. The 2024 checklist assigns global and national category VU. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List (Government Resolution No. 190).
Last updated
Gallery
European turtle dove in photos
Photo: Charles J. Sharp
Hungary ·
Photo: Yuvalr
Israel ·
Photo: Charles J. Sharp
Otmoor, Oxfordshire ·
Photo: Cezar Popescu
Sudiți, Romania ·
Photo: Andy Morffew
Hungary ·
Photo: Nikola Veljković
Serbia ·
Photo: Zerocool.marko
Đerdap National Park ·
Identification
How to identify European turtle dove
A small migratory dove with chestnut-and-black scaly upperparts, a black-and-white striped neck patch, and a purring “turr-turr” song. In Georgia it is a breeding migrant on the 2024 checklist, Vulnerable globally and nationally on that list. The usual confusion is Eurasian collared dove.
Length about 26–28 cm and wingspan about 47–53 cm at species level. Mass is often given around 100–170 g. A separate measured series from Georgia is not given on this page. The body is slender for a dove. Upperparts are mottled chestnut and black (a scaly or tortoiseshell look). The head and underparts are blue-grey to pinkish-grey; the breast often shows a soft pink wash. Each side of the neck has a patch of fine black-and-white stripes. The eye has a reddish orbital ring in adults. The tail is dark with a clear white tip and sides, obvious in flight and when the bird fans the tail.
Juveniles are duller and lack the neat neck patch until they moult. Sexes are similar in the field. The song is a soft, repeated purr — “turr-turr” — not the three-note coo of collared dove. Birds often feed on the ground in open patches and flush with a sharp wing rattle.
Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is a year-round resident and migrant in Georgia on the 2024 checklist (YR-R; M). It is paler, more uniform grey-buff, with a single black half-collar on the nape, not a striped side-neck patch, and it lacks the chestnut-black scaly back. Oriental turtle dove / rufous turtle dove (Streptopelia orientalis meena) is listed as a migrant only (M), with photographic evidence; it is larger and darker, with heavy scaling on the underparts and a different neck pattern — treat uncertain autumn birds carefully. Laughing dove (Spilopelia senegalensis) is coded as introduced and year-round resident (INT; YR-R): smaller, warmer pink-brown, with a spotted neck patch, not black-and-white stripes. Common woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) is much larger, with a white wing bar and neck patch of a different shape — see that species page in this atlas. This atlas does not yet have separate pages for collared dove, oriental turtle dove, or laughing dove.
It is not a threat to people. A small dove with a scaly chestnut back and a purring song in Georgia in late spring or summer is this species, not the pale collared dove of towns and villages.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
In Georgia look for it in the breeding season and on spring and autumn passage, not in winter on the 2024 checklist. Species-level habitat is open and semi-open country: woodland edge, scrub, tall hedges, orchards, farmland with weeds and seed, and river valleys with bushes. Nests are usually a thin platform of twigs in scrub or a low tree. A named Georgian locality is Batumi (Adjara): Iliauni SPA N 16 lists it only as a migrant (M), not as a breeder at that site. The CMS action-plan background notes that the Batumi Raptor Count recorded hundreds of passage birds in September–October 2016. Iliauni SPA N 17 (Kolkheti; Guria–Samegrelo) also lists it as M — that is site-level passage, not a map of those whole regions. The 2024 checklist confirms country-level breeding-migrant status but does not publish a regional gazetteer. The atlas map colours only Adjara because of the named Batumi record; do not assume it occurs only there, and do not assume even occurrence on treeless high plateaus or in dense closed forest. A separate national elevation band for Georgia is not published here.
Diet
There is no separate Georgian diet study on this page. Across the range adults feed mainly on seeds, especially small weed and cereal seeds taken on the ground; some invertebrates are also taken. Nestlings are fed crop milk (a nutritious secretion from the crop of both parents). That is species-level biology, not a measured Georgian menu.
Behavior
It is active by day. The song is a soft, rhythmic purring “turr-turr”, often given from a perch in scrub or a tree; that call is the origin of the English name “turtle”. The recording on this page is xeno-canto XC1153227 (Arjun Dutta, Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB, Cambridgeshire; CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). It is song, not a Georgian recording. Flight is fast and direct, with a dark wedge-shaped tail bordered white. Courtship includes display flights and bowing. The nest is a flimsy twig platform. Species-level clutches are usually two white eggs; incubation is about 13–14 days and both parents sit; young leave the nest after about two weeks — those figures are from the wider range, not a Georgian nest sample. Northern and temperate populations are long-distance migrants wintering mainly in the Sahel belt of Africa. The Black Sea–Eastern Mediterranean flyway is one documented route for eastern birds; Georgia sits on that broader corridor. The 2016 Batumi autumn count is named passage evidence, not a claim that every coastal watch site is a proven hotspot. Exact arrival and departure dates for Georgia are not tabulated here.
Conservation
BirdLife International assesses Streptopelia turtur as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because of a rapid, large-scale decline in European breeding populations. The 2024 Georgian bird checklist assigns global and national category VU. The species is not listed on Georgia’s 2014 Red List (Government Resolution No. 190) among the bird taxa in that decree. A later Ministry order on practical measures for threatened species (Order No. 2-804) names ჩვეულებრივი გვრიტი (Streptopelia turtur) with international and national status VU and lists pressures including unregulated or excessive harvest, especially on migration corridors, possible competition or hybridisation with Eurasian collared dove, destruction of shelterbelts, and burning of grain fields. Those are policy statements, not a national census. Streptopelia turtur is not on the Environmental Supervision Department’s published hunting season list; Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is listed there from the fourth Saturday of August to 15 February, with a daily limit of 5 — check the live DES notice. The CMS background document cites a Georgian bag estimate for 1966–1970 (about 19–60 thousand) and 2015 season rules; those are historical figures, not the current DES list. Species-level drivers of decline elsewhere include agricultural intensification and loss of seed-rich foraging habitat, disease (including trichomonosis in some populations), and hunting along migration and wintering routes. A current pair count for Georgia is not given on this page. Do not catch or shoot wild turtle doves.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about European turtle dove.
Yes. The 2024 annotated checklist of the birds of Georgia lists it as a confirmed breeding bird and migrant (BB; M). It is absent in the non-breeding season.
In the warmer months in open and semi-open country with scrub, hedges, woodland edge, or farmland with seed. A named passage locality is Batumi (Adjara); Iliauni also lists it as a migrant on Kolkheti SPA (Guria–Samegrelo). This page has no complete municipality list. Presence is confirmed at country level; the map colours only Adjara because of the named Batumi record.
Chestnut-and-black scaly upperparts, black-and-white striped neck patch, white-edged dark tail, and a soft purring “turr-turr” song. Collared dove is paler with a single black nape collar and no scaly chestnut back.
About 26–28 cm long at species level, with a wingspan of about 47–53 cm. A separate measured series from Georgia is not given on this page.
Mainly seeds taken on the ground; chicks are fed crop milk. Diet has not been studied separately in Georgia on this page.
As a breeding migrant: present in the breeding season and on passage, absent in winter, according to the 2024 checklist. A September–October 2016 count at Batumi documents autumn passage. Exact arrival and departure dates for Georgia are not tabulated on this page.
Yes. BB on the 2024 checklist means it is a confirmed breeder. Named nest sites inside Georgia are not listed on this page. The Batumi and Kolkheti SPA lists code this species there only as a migrant (M).
It is harmless to people. It is globally Vulnerable and coded VU nationally on the 2024 checklist. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List (Decree No. 190). It is not on the current DES hunting-season list; collared dove is listed separately. Do not catch or hunt wild turtle doves.
References
Sources
References
Sources
- Budagashvili & Javakhishvili 2024 — The birds of Georgia (Sandgrouse 46)
- SABUKO — Bird checklist
- Ilia State University — SPA bird checklist
- Ilia State University — SPA N 16 Batumi
- Ilia State University — SPA N 17 Kolkheti
- BirdLife DataZone — European Turtle-dove
- IUCN Red List — Streptopelia turtur
- IOC World Bird List
- Avibase — Georgia bird checklist
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- გარემოს დაცვისა და სოფლის მეურნეობის მინისტრის ბრძანება №2-804 — პრაქტიკული ღონისძიებები
- გარემოსდაცვითი ზედამხედველობის დეპარტამენტი — ნადირობის სეზონი
- CMS — European Turtle Dove Action Plan background
- RSPB — Turtle Dove
- BTO BirdFacts — Turtle Dove
- Birds of the World — European Turtle-Dove
- xeno-canto XC1153227 — Streptopelia turtur (Arjun Dutta, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Hungary (Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Israel (Yuvalr, CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Otmoor flight (Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Sudiți (Cezar Popescu, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — drinking (Andy Morffew, CC BY 2.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Serbia male (Nikola Veljković, CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons — Đerdap (Zerocool.marko, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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