Hill Pigeon

Hill Pigeon

Columba rupestris

Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Xining

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

5 Verified sightings at Xining
159 In all 3 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Hill Pigeon

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

It is found in China, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Kazakhstan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. This pigeon is comparatively restricted in range of Pakistan to the furthest northern inner valleys of the Karakoram... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call1:18

India · 2023

© Viral joshi · XC824449 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:53

Russian Federation · 2015

© Albert Lastukhin · XC263295 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Hemis National Park 🇮🇳 India
~70%
2 Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park 🇲🇳 Mongolia
~20%
3 Langtang National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Xining 🇨🇳 China
~10%
2 Ulaanbaatar 🇲🇳 Mongolia
<5%
3 Beijing 🇨🇳 China
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Hill Pigeon in Xining?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hill Pigeon sighting in Xining on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 34th most-seen of the 38 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

What time of day is best to see a Hill Pigeon?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hill Pigeon sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Xining the best place to see a Hill Pigeon?

Yes

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Hill Pigeon sightings, Xining has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia, under 5%) and Beijing (China, under 5%).

Where does the Hill Pigeon sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Hill Pigeon is recorded against all the birds logged in Xining (5 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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