Two icons of Christmas are telling us that wildlife is in crisis

For at least 200 years it has been a yuletide staple, but the traditional world of the popular carol The Twelve Days of Christmas is now under threat as never before. Partridges (Perdix perdix) and turtle doves (Streptopelia turtur) are disappearing from the countryside at such alarming rates that without urgent action the species may cease to exist in the UK outside the verses of the festive classic, scientists have warned. Once widespread in southern Britain, the turtle dove population, estimated at 14,000 pairs, has seen a 60% drop in numbers in the five years to 2010. The UK grey partridge, estimated at around 43,000 pairs, has seen a 30% fall over the same period.

"Losing six out of 10 of our turtle doves and three out of 10 grey partridge in five years is nothing short of an unsustainable wildlife disaster," said Mark Eaton, a scientist with the RSPB which launched Operation Turtle Dove in May. "The turtle dove is in a great degree of danger – if this trend were to continue we could be down to fewer than 1,000 pairs by the middle of the next decade, with complete extinction a real possibility. "These two icons of Christmas are telling us that wildlife is in crisis. We are urging the government to take urgent action to save these species from becoming just memories within The Twelve Days of Christmas festive classic."

Source: The Guardian, 6 December 2012
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/dec/06/christmas-partridges…