Description:

Large stout dove, mostly rufous upper and dusky underparts, darker then European Turtle-dove. Rufous-scaled scapulars and wing-coverts, dusky underparts, and barring on neck. In flight, has dusky-grey underwing and has grey sides and tip to the tail. Juvenile lacks neck-barring, and has buffish-grey head and underparts.

Distribution:

Common resident and altitudinal migrant in the lower valleys all over Gilgit-Baltistan. Found in forest edge up to subalpine zone around 3200m; also occurs in sparse woodland of poplar or willow, scrub and wooded farmland bordering cultivated fields.

Behavior:

Most feeding is on the ground. Forages by walking slowly and plucking food in the grass or foliage. Raids paddy fields, and also feeds on cereals and pine seeds; also herbs, bamboo shoots and green shoots of various plants. Opportunistic frugivory, takes sunflower seeds and also feeding on small snails.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Oriental Turtle-Dove in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Oriental Turtle-Dove

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.