Chalcophaps indica
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The emerald dove or common emerald dove (Chalcophaps indica), also called Asian emerald dove and grey-capped emerald dove, is a widespread resident breeding pigeon native to the tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The dove is also known by the names of green dove and green-winged pigeon. The common emerald dove is the state bird of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Pacific emerald dove and Stephan's emerald dove were both considered conspecific.
In 1743, the English naturalist George Edwards included a picture and a description of the common emerald dove in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. He used the English name "Green Wing'd Dove". His drawing was made from a live bird at the home a merchant in Rotherhithe near London. Edwards was told that the dove had come from the East Indies. When in 1758 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the tenth edition, he placed the common emerald dove with all the other pigeons in the genus Columba. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Columba indica and cited Edwards's work. The specific epithet indica is Latin for "Indian"... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davao City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 2 | Dehradun | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Manila | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 4 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Cebu City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 6 | Kaohsiung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 7 | Hong Kong | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 8 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 9 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 10 | Dhaka | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Ragunan Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 5 | Basel Zoo | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | |
| 6 | Ostrava Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 7 | Melaka Zoo and Bird Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 8 | Bali Zoo | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 9 | Jihlava Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 10 | Walsrode World Bird Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Abilene Zoological Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Toronto Zoo | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 13 | Minnesota Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Khao Kheow Open Zoo | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 15 | Kansas City Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Badoca Safari Park | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 17 | Shanghai Zoo | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 18 | Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 19 | Chester Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 20 | Banham Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 21 | Slimbridge Wetland Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 22 | Detroit Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 23 | Silesian Zoological Garden | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 24 | Audubon Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 25 | Kyiv Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 26 | Fonghuanggu Bird and Ecology Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 27 | Burgers' Ocean | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 28 | Dierenpark Hoenderdaell | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 29 | Royal Burgers' Zoo | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 30 | Memphis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 31 | Houston Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 32 | Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife Center | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 33 | Honolulu Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 34 | Jersey Zoo | 🇯🇪 Jersey | |
| 35 | London Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 36 | Green World Ecological Farm | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 37 | Biotropica | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 38 | Vogelpark Avifauna | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 39 | Roosevelt Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 40 | The Abilene Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 41 | Kuala Lumpur Bird Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 42 | Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 43 | Reid Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 44 | Kathmandu Zoo | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 45 | The Living Planet Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 46 | Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 47 | Santillana Zoo | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 48 | Amazon World Zoo Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 49 | Mississippi Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 50 | Penang Bird Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Emerald Dove sighting in Udawalawe National Park on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 123rd most-seen of the 166 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and December–February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Asian Emerald Dove in Udawalawe National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–April and June–November, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Asian Emerald Dove sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
31st of 39
Of the 39 parks where we can rate Asian Emerald Dove sightings, Udawalawe National Park ranks 31st at about 10%. The best odds are in Sinharaja Forest Reserve (Sri Lanka, about 60%), Kaeng Krachan National Park (Thailand, about 50%) and Way Kambas National Park (Indonesia, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Columbidae
The closest relatives of the Asian Emerald Dove that you can see in Udawalawe National Park (family Columbidae, Pigeons and Doves) are Pearl-necked Dove (about 90%), Orange-breasted Green-Pigeon (about 60%) and Green Imperial-Pigeon (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Asian Emerald Dove is recorded against all the birds logged in Udawalawe National Park (27 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.
