Yellow-eyed pigeon
| Yellow-eyed pigeon | |
|---|---|
| Columba eversmanni from Tal Chapar Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan, India | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Columbiformes |
| Family: | Columbidae |
| Genus: | Columba |
| Species: | C. eversmanni |
| Binomial name | |
| Columba eversmanni Bonaparte, 1856 | |
The yellow-eyed pigeon, pale-backed pigeon, yellow-eyed dove or yellow-eyed stock dove (Columba eversmanni) is a member of the family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). It breeds in southern Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, north-east Iran and extreme north-west China. It winters in north-east Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Rajasthan (including Tal Chhapar Sanctuary and Jorbeer, Bikaner). The bird has declined in numbers over the years, chiefly because of hunting, and it is listed as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The bird was first described by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1856. The binomial commemorates the German biologist and explorer Eduard Friedrich Eversmann who did much research into the flora and fauna of the southeast steppes of Russia.