Columba rupestris
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
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 →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hemis National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 3 | Langtang National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xining | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Ulaanbaatar | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 3 | Beijing | 🇨🇳 China |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Hill Pigeon sighting in Hemis National Park on a given day, based on 103 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 52 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April to August
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Hill Pigeon in Hemis National Park on a given day, against about 50% in September and November, the lowest months. Those are among Hemis National Park's wettest months, with about 40 mm of rain a month against 10 mm in October. January has too few records to rate.
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.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Hill Pigeon sightings, Hemis National Park has the highest daily chance: about 70%. Next come Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park (Mongolia, about 20%) and Langtang National Park (Nepal, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hill Pigeon is recorded against all the birds logged in Hemis National Park (103 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
