How big is a Hill Pigeon?

The Hill Pigeon is a medium sized bird weighing about 245 g.

Where can you see a Hill Pigeon?

The Hill Pigeon occurs in 12 countries, including India, China, Mongolia, Nepal and Russia.

What birds look similar to a Hill Pigeon?

The Hill Pigeon is most easily confused with the Ashy Wood Pigeon, the Snow Pigeon and the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon.

Is the Hill Pigeon endangered?

The Hill Pigeon is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Hill Pigeon

Columba rupestris

Doves and Pigeons · Columbiformes · Rare

The Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris) is a rare doves and pigeon found in 12 countries, weighing about 245 g. The hill pigeon is a species of bird in the family Columbidae.

Least ConcernRareEats seedsrockplatform nest245 g

Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris), photo 1 — Photo: 夏仲归 · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris), photo 2 — Photo: Suhel Quader · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris), photo 3 — Photo: Suhel Quader · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris), photo 4 — Photo: Анна Васильченко · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris), photo 5 — Photo: Andrew Bazdyrev · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris), photo 6 — Photo: Andrew Bazdyrev · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris), photo 7 — Photo: Andrew Bazdyrev · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris), photo 8 — Photo: Dmitry Kulakov · CC BY 4.0

Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris), photo 9 — Photo: (c) Нурхайдарова Татьяна, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

Hill Pigeon (Columba rupestris), photo 10 — Photo: (c) Griha Hasanov, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY

About the Hill Pigeon

The hill pigeon is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. Other names include eastern rock dove and Turkestan hill dove.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to identify it

The hill pigeon is a stout-bodied pigeon, similar in size and general appearance to the rock dove (Columba livia) but mainly differentiated by its tail pattern which consists of a broad, white tail-band across the black tail. Other differences include a paler mantle and upper wings and a white patch on the back. In flight, the tail pattern is similar to the snow pigeon (Columba leuconota), but lacks the contrast between the head and neck in that species.

Where it lives

India China Mongolia Nepal Russia Kyrgyzstan South Korea Tajikistan North Korea Kazakhstan Pakistan Bhutan

When to see it

Best months: March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, with peak activity in July. It is a summer visitor species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Hill Pigeon?: The hill pigeon is a stout-bodied pigeon, similar in size and general appearance to the rock dove (Columba livia) but mainly differentiated by its tail pattern which consists of a broad, white tail-band across the black tail. Full identification notes are on this page.
How big is a Hill Pigeon?: The Hill Pigeon is a medium sized bird weighing about 245 g.
Where can you see a Hill Pigeon?: The Hill Pigeon occurs in 12 countries, including India, China, Mongolia, Nepal and Russia.
What birds look similar to a Hill Pigeon?: The Hill Pigeon is most easily confused with the Ashy Wood Pigeon, the Snow Pigeon and the Nilgiri Wood Pigeon.
Is the Hill Pigeon endangered?: The Hill Pigeon is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Hill Pigeon for real

BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.

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