Snow pigeon
Columba leuconota Vigors, 1831
The snow pigeon (Columba leuconota) is a species in the family Columbidae, order Columbiformes. Recorded adults weigh 281 g to 288.8 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the snow pigeon
- Weight
- 281 g – 288.8 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Granivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- rockysrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 18 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the snow pigeon live?
Not recorded
What is the snow pigeon?
The snow pigeon (Columba leuconota) is a species of bird in the genus Columba in the family Columbidae from hilly regions of central Asia. They are grey, black, pale brown and white birds and two subspecies are recognised: C. l. leuconota occurs in the western Himalayas from western Afghanistan to Sikkim and C. l. gradaria occurs in the mountains of eastern Tibet and from eastern Nan Shan (Qinghai) to Yunnan and extreme northern Myanmar. 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.
From the Wikipedia article “Snow pigeon” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Snow_pigeon&oldid=1315280397), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the snow pigeon endangered?
The snow pigeon is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the snow pigeon classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderColumbiformes
- familyColumbidae
- genusColumba
- SpeciesColumba leuconota Vigors, 1831
Other names and names in other languages (34)
- حمام الثلجArabic
- colom de les neusCatalan
- holub sněžnýCzech
- SnedueDanish
- SchneetaubeGerman
- neĝkolomboEsperanto
- NeĝokolomboEsperanto
- Paloma nivalSpanish
- lumetuviEstonian
- lumikyyhkyFinnish
- Pigeon des neigesFrench
- crnoglavi golubCroatian
- hógalambHungarian
- Piccione delle neviItalian
- ユキバトJapanese
- Ақтөс кептерKazakh
- snieginis karvelisLithuanian
- sniega balodisLatvian
- हिमाली मलेवाNepali
- SneeuwduifDutch
- snødueNorwegian
- gołąb białobrzuchyPolish
- برفیلا کبوترWestern Panjabi
- pombo-nivalPortuguese
- pombo-das-nevesPortuguese
- Белогрудый голубьRussian
- holub pobelavýSlovak
- Belogrudi golubSerbian
- snöduvaSwedish
- Alaca GüvercinTurkish
- Білогрудий голубUkrainian
- голуб білоспиннийUkrainian
- 雪鴿Chinese
- 雪鸽Chinese
Relatives of the snow pigeon
Other species in the same genus Columba.

Rock dove
Columba livia

Common wood pigeon
Columba palumbus

Stock dove
Columba oenas

Hill pigeon
Columba rupestris

Nilgiri wood pigeon
Columba elphinstonii

Speckled pigeon
Columba guinea
CompareSnow pigeon vs Rock doveSnow pigeon vs Common wood pigeonSnow pigeon vs Stock doveSnow pigeon vs Hill pigeon
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the snow pigeon?
An adult snow pigeon weighs 281 g – 288.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the snow pigeon endangered?
The snow pigeon is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the snow pigeon?
The snow pigeon (Columba leuconota) belongs to the family Columbidae in the order Columbiformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Snow pigeon (Columba leuconota). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/snow-pigeon
“Snow pigeon (Columba leuconota).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/snow-pigeon.
@misc{snow_pigeon_2026,
title = {Snow pigeon (Columba leuconota)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/snow-pigeon},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}