The 10 british songbirds at risk of extinction, from the turtle dove to the marsh tit

Paula Lester February 12, 2020

The latest figures on songbirds make for sobering reading.

Songbirds are defined as ‘perching birds’, because their specially adapted feet (with three toes facing forward and one back) allow them to grip on to branches and ledges, in gardens, parks, woodland and farmland.

As their name suggests, these passerines also emit beautiful and highly complicated songs that are best heard during the dawn chorus. According to the latest figures from the British Trust for Ornithology and RSPB, the following 10 species on the red list of Birds of Conservation Concern suffered some of the most rapid declines from 1967 to 2016:

Turtle dove

Streptopelia turtur — numbers down 98%

One of the reasons why this dainty dove (right) with its pale-pink breast and gentle, purring call is now increasingly rare is thought to be the lack of seed and grain available to it during the breeding season, which results in far fewer nesting attempts.

Continued