Snow pigeon
| Snow pigeon | |
|---|---|
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| Snow pigeon from Sikkim, India. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Columbiformes |
| Family: | Columbidae |
| Genus: | Columba |
| Species: | C. leuconota |
| Binomial name | |
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Columba leuconota Vigors, 1831 |
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The snow pigeon (Columba leuconota) is a species of bird in the Columba genus in the family Columbidae from hilly regions of central Asia. They are grey, black, pale brown and white birds, and two races are recognised; C. l. leuconota occurs in Afghanistan and the western Himalayas; C. l. gradaria occurs in the mountains of East Tibet and from East Nan Shan (Qinghai) to Yunnan. The birds forage in open country in pairs or small groups, feeding on grain, buds, shoots, berries and seeds. They roost at night on cliffs, breeding in crevices where they build untidy stick nests and lay a clutch of usually two white eggs. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the bird's conservation status as being of "least concern".
Snow pigeons have a blackish head contrasting with white neck collar and white underparts shading into ashy on the abdomen. Their backs are brownish grey with a white patch on the lower back. Their wings are pale grey with three brown bands. Their black tails have a clear white band in the middle which narrows and curve forward to reach the tip of outermost tail features. Young birds have narrow pale buff margins to the feathers of the upper parts and wings. The white of the underparts is sullied with buff.
Two races are recognized:
They are resident birds in rocky hills of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. It is a common bird and has an extremely large range. The population is believed to be stable, and for these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
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Wikipedia