.יוצמ רות (280






European Turtle-dove
European Turtle-dove
European Turtle-dove




Streptopelia turtur
Streptopelia turtur
Streptopelia turtur


לארשי

.םירוחש םיוקב םיספסופמ םינבל םימתכ ינש וראוצ ידיצב .םימוח םימתכב רמונמ ינומרע ובג ,הנטק הנויכ הארנ :יוצמ רות
.הרוחש תיגנודהו ההכ רופא רוקמה .תונבל תוצונ ןדיצלו תוהכ תויזכרמה ובנז תורבא ,ינומרע לגלגס עבצב וראוצו ונוחג
.עקרקה ינפ לעמ טקלמ אוה ינוחמצה ונוזמ תא .םדא ישעמ םינגו תורעי ילוש ,תולילד םיצע תושרוח םע םיחותפ םיפונ ולודיג תיב
.הנופצב דחוימב ,ץראה יקלח בורב רתויב ץופנ ץיק ןנקמו חרוא רבוע ץראב
9 'וט תישארב ... לזוגו רותו שלושמ ליאו ...
Subspecies and Distribution.
S. t. turtur C and S Britain E to Poland and N Russia, S to N Mediterranean coast, and on through Asia Minor and Syria to Kazakhstan and W Siberia, also Madeira and Canary Is.
S. t. arenicola Morocco E to Tripoli, and from Iraq and Iran E through Afganistan, Turkestan and Kirghiz steppes to China.
S. t. hoggara S Sahara.
S. t. rufescens Egypt.

Descriptive notes.

29 cm, 100-170 g, wingspan 45-53 cm. Forehead pale bluish grey darkening on crown, nape and hindneck. Throat white, sides of face pinkish grey, lower throat and breast mauve-pink merging into white on belly and undertail coverts.
Inner wing co coverts and scapulars consist of black feathers with broad orange-buff fringes creating a spotted effect. Outer wing coverts and underwing bluish grey. Underside of tail black and white. Iris varying from golden yellow to light orange. Orbital skin dark purplish blue. Bill blackish often with purple tinge, paler toward tip. Legs purplish red
Race arenicola slightly smaller and paler, and hoggara richly colored with broad, deep orange-buff fringes to wing coverts, head and rump feathers with sandy tips. In rufescens, male mainly rich dark sandy orange on crown and upperpars with breast deep pink, whereas famale paler with lighter pink breast often suffused with buff.

Habitat.

Wide variety of woodland types, as well as steppe and semi-desert. Does not inhabit unbroken forests, preferring forest borders, open woodland and heath with tree clumps.
Avoids windy cloudy and wet regions preferring sunny, dry and sheltered areas, also avoids mountains.
Common in forests of holm oak and cork oak, open red juniper and forests interspersed with farms, also olive groves and date-palm oases in parts of its range.

Food and Feeding

Diet based on seeds and fruits of weeds and cereals. Seeds taken include those of Brassica, Chenopodium, Fumaria, Helianthus, Medicago and Triticum.
Berries and fungi are occasionally eaten, also earthworms, some insects and small snails. Although largely arboreal, finds most of its food on the ground.

Breeding.

May in Europe. Nest is flimsy platform of small twigs, lined with grass stems or roots and leaves, placed in a tree, shrub or hedge. occasionally uses old nests of other birds. 2 eggs, incubation 15 days.
Has a refractory period (when unresponsive to stimuli) following breeding, unique among all pigeons so far studied. First breeding at 1 year old.

Movements.

Strongly migratory in most populations. but a few African birds resident in S of breeding range.
Most birds winter from Senegal, Gambia to Ethiopia and Eritrea. Race arenicola has been recorded wintering in NW India on occasion. Birds set off S Jul-Sep, moving N again Mar-May.
Unusual in exhibiting a broad front migratory pattern on its way to its African wintering grounds.

Status and Conservation

Not globally threatened. Widespread and fairly common, in Europe estimated at 10.000.000-12.000.000 pairs.

Israel.

In Israel three subspecies S. t. turtur, S. t. atenicola and S. t. rufescens. Abundant passage migrant over the country, and breeding summer visitor, mainly in central and northern Israel.

S. t. turtur
(in Israel)

S. t. arenicola
(in Israel)

S. t. arenicola

S. t. hoggara

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