LONDON — Puffins and turtle doves are now among four UK bird species at risk of extinction, putting them at the same level as the African elephant.

Atlantic puffins, Slavonian grebes, pochards and European turtle doves join the "Red List" of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), doubling the number of bird species given "vulnerable" status in the UK to eight. Disruption in food supply because of changing sea temperatures and hunting are among reasons for the population declines.

"Vulnerable" is the status before "endangered," then "critically endangered." After that comes "extinct in the wild" and "extinct."

“Today’s announcement means that the global wave of extinction is now lapping at our shores," said Martin Harper, conservation director with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

"The erosion of the UK's wildlife is staggering and this is reinforced when you talk about puffin and turtle dove now facing the same level of extinction threat as African elephant and lion, and being more endangered than the humpback whale," he said.

A turtle dove in Suffolk, England.

While there are still large colonies of Atlantic puffins, mostly in Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, young birds are not surviving to breeding age. Research shows puffins are susceptible to shifts in sea temperatures and extreme weather as the changes affect their prey, the Guardian said.

One study done on a Scottish colony of puffins showed that young birds weren't returning to the island to breed, possibly because of a lack of enough fish to feed on.

National Geographic has rated the Shetland Isles one of the top places to see puffins in the world.

Common Pochard at, Regents Park, London

Slavonian grebe, in Sweden

Turtle doves have been a familiar sight over the summer, particularly in southeast England, but they've suffered declines of more than 30% over the last 16 years across Europe. Researchers are trying to find out why, and say changes to agricultural practices have affected their feeding and nesting.

Hunting is also a problem for turtle doves. “We do know there is strong illegal hunting of turtle dove around the Mediterranean,” said Grahame Madge, an RSPB spokesman.