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RSPB Science @rspbscience.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Turtle Doves spend ~60% of the year in the Sahel, but their winter ecology remains poorly understood

A simple map of the West African savanna highlighting top to bottom: Sahelian acacia savanna (yellow), West Sudanian savanna (peach orange) and Guinean forest-savanna (green). To the right is highlighted the Inner Niger Delta flooded savanna (green). Across the map there are lots of red dots showing the overwintering location of the tracked Turtle Doves.

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RSPB Science @rspbscience.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

Results show wintering habitat was consistently associated with riparian mosaic landscapes Characterised by open woodlands with grasslands and water access Photo credit: Chris Orsman

A photo of a flock of Turtle Doves in flight sits above a series of line graphs. These graphs show changes in habitat coverage, distance to river, rainfall, vegetation and temperature across the early (blue) and late (yellow) winter.

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RSPB Science @rspbscience.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

How do Turtle Doves cope with extreme environmental changes during the Sahelian dry season? Results suggest a southward shift in wintering range, likely in search of suitable habitat Specifically, accessible water appears to be the key driver.

An animation shows the tracked movement of one bird across eight different sites on the Sahel. The bird covers long distances, travelling first south into the Sahel (Site 1), East (Sites 2-4), then West to the coast (Sites 5-8) and North again.

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