Description:

Medium sized, widespread archetypal bluish grey pigeon. Grey tail with blackish terminal band, and broad black bars across greater coverts and tertials/secondaries. Back varies from whitish to pale grey (note difference in tail pattern compared with Hill Pigeon).

Distribution:

Common resident in the lower valleys in all the districts of Gilgit-Baltistan. Natural habitat consists usually of rock faces, inhabiting ledges in caves and cliffs, some vegetation and a source of water. From lowlands up to 2500m.

Behavior:

Feeds in small flocks, often in cultivated fields close to habitation, and sometimes with hill or snow pigeon. Often on roads, to feed on spilled grain. Feed typically on grains, legumes and various weeds. Some invertebrates also taken, including moth larvae and pupae, snails and slugs.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Rock Pigeon in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Rock Pigeon

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.