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

Floodplain and riparian habitats are therefore key for wintering Turtle Doves But land-use change, water extraction, and woody cover loss threaten these systems Their restoration is vital for both biodiversity and local community resilience Photo credit: Chris Orsman

A composite photo illustrates the different land-uses in Turtle Dove wintering areas: It shows livestock grazing beneath trees near a river (top right), a thicket of acacia in short grassland (bottom right) and the local community of Beer-Sheba, in Senegal, harvesting peanuts (left).

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