Description:

Slim, small dove with fairly long tail. Brownish-pink head and underparts merging into creamy white belly which passes into white undertail-coverts, uniform upperparts, and dark stippling on upper breast. Juvenile duller, lacks dark stippling, and has whitish fringes to scapulars and coverts.

Distribution:

Locally common resident in lower parts of Gilgit, Diamer and east of Ghizer districts. Occupies dry deciduous woodlands and margins of semi-desert, dry cultivation, scrub-covered hills and thrive in human habitations, normally below 1600m.

Behavior:

Food is taken on the ground, the birds foraging close to shrubs; rarely plucks fruit or grain directly from plants. Generally solitary or in pairs or in small flocks. Small seeds comprise most of diet, but also takes entire sunflower seeds or grains of maize; also eats fruits and nectar; some insects are taken including ants, termites, fly larvae and pupae.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

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

Seasonal Occurrence of Laughing 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.