Critically endangered Mindoro bleeding-heart pigeon photographed after 20-year absence

A camera on the Philippine island of Mindoro captured one of the country's rarest birds, confirming that the critically endangered Mindoro bleeding-heart pigeon still survives in the wild. The bird was spotted in August in the Puerto Galera rainforest, and is the first confirmed photograph of the species Gallicolumba platenae in two decades, according to the nonprofit organisation Centre for Conservation Innovation Ph Inc. (CCIPH). “For an extremely rare and secretive species, a single image can carry enormous weight,” CCIPH researchers wrote in a September 3 announcement. “It confirms that the bird continues to survive within the landscape.” The photograph resulted from an Indigenous-led initiative inside the Iraya Mangyan ancestral domain. CCIPH attributed it to Iraya patrollers Alex, Melenciano, Cristito, Jay, and Sonnyboy, citing their landscape knowledge, sustained forest presence, and stewardship of their ancestral domain. Working with them, CCIPH researchers John Bibar and Joshua Manila deployed the camera traps under the Mindoro Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Programme. “This record not only proves that this very rare species continues to persist in these steep rainforests, but solidifies the importance of Puerto Galera as a UNESCO biosphere reserve and an important sanctuary for this critically endangered species,” said Juan Carlos Gonzalez, an ornithologist and curator for birds at the Museum of Natural History at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, to Mongabay. The orange-red spot on the bird's otherwise white chest along with the iridescent green plumage on its head and neck, makes it readily identifiable. Gonzalez also pointed to its blue-green and brown upper parts, brown wings and single whitish wing bar, which distinguish it from other Philippine bleeding hearts. They are also called 'bleeding heart' because they have a vivid red or orange patch of feathers on their white chest that looks like an open, bleeding wound.

Decades of absence

The Mindoro bleeding-heart is a ground-dwelling pigeon endemic to Mindoro. While historical accounts described it as common in the island's forests, confirmed encounters became extremely rare during the second half of the 20th century. The last confirmed record came in 2005, when an individual was caught in a snare intended for red junglefowl near a fruiting fig tree. Other encounters were subsequently reported, but not all could be verified, CCIPH said. The prolonged absence led the Search for Lost Birds program to list the pigeon as a “lost” species, a designation covering birds not documented by science for at least 10 years. The bird is also listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces an extremely high risk of extinction. “Birds that find themselves on both these lists are of particular concern,” said Alex Berryman, who oversees species conservation assessments for Asia at the NGO BirdLife International.

New records set

The species has generally been described as a lowland forest specialist, typically occurring at elevations of around 400 meters (1,300 feet), and occasionally up to 800 m (2,600 ft). But the camera trap photographed it above 900 m (nearly 3,000 ft). “A lowland specialist appearing in high-elevation forest is not necessarily a species expanding its horizons,” CCIPH researchers wrote. “It may be a species running out of lowland to live in. ” Moist lowland and transitional mid-mountain rainforest can still occur at around 900 m in the steep range, Gonzalez said. Much of the lower slopes of Puerto Galera have been degraded as tourism grows, potentially pushing the birds toward less-accessible upper forests. Berryman said the high-elevation record “raises hope that there might be more out there.”

Protecting the species

However, the spotting is not all positive as the birds' habitat, the forest, is under threat as well. Berryman said the next priorities should be to safeguard as much suitable habitat as possible and conduct a comprehensive assessment of the species' population. Gonzalez called for establishing a legislated protected area covering the Mount Halcon-Mount Malasimbo Range, which he said currently has no government-designated protected area covering its entirety. Moreover, he also called for a stop to illegal logging and poaching, strengthening conservation education and preventing traps intended for red junglefowl from catching bleeding-hearts. He proposed safer trap designs and using Indigenous wildlife-tracking expertise to support regulated ecotourism. “Whether it continues to beat for another twenty years or another hundred will depend on whether we treat this image merely as an extraordinary record or allow the evidence it carries to change what we do next,” the CCIPH researchers wrote.