Two turtle doves? Spot them while you can
YOU’LL find them at the heart of a favourite festive tune – but the days of turtle doves and partridges may be numbered.
On the day Advent starts, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has warned that both species from the Twelve Days Of Christmas lyrics face the threat of extinction.
The number of turtle doves in Britain has plummeted by 97 per cent since 1970, and now only 14,000 breeding pairs visit the UK. In October the dainty, tortoiseshell bird was placed on the ‘red list’ of the world’s most vulnerable species.
The grey partridge is on the UK’s own list of highest concern. The breeding population has fallen 92 per cent since 1970 to 43,000 breeding pairs.
Jeff Knott, head of nature policy at the RSPB, said: ‘Both the turtle dove and the grey partridge are iconic birds yet tragically both are suffering huge and ongoing declines. It means hundreds of thousands of people no longer get the chance to see them.
‘But if we act now, we can bring them back from the brink and save them for Christmases to come.’
Turtle doves are in danger because they are hunted on their migration routes and because modern herbicides and pesticides destroy their natural breeding grounds and chick food.
They are seen as romantic symbols as they tend to mate for life, explaining their inclusion in the festive song from 1780.
Grey partridges have suffered similar damage to the habitat they need for nesting and brood rearing and also from increasing numbers of predators such as foxes, stoats and magpies.
The plight of endangered species will be highlighted in a major documentary, Racing Extinction, which airs on the Discovery Channel in the UK and 219 other countries on Wednesday.