Mindoro Bleeding-Heart Pigeon Spotted in Philippines

Key facts

• The critically endangered Mindoro bleeding-heart pigeon (Gallicolumba platenae) was photographed in August in the Puerto Galera rainforest on Mindoro island, the first confirmed photograph in two decades.
• The photograph resulted from an Indigenous-led initiative inside the Iraya Mangyan ancestral domain, with Centre for Conservation Innovation Ph Inc. (CCIPH) researchers John Bibar and Joshua Manila deploying camera traps under the Mindoro Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Programme.
• The species is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List and was designated a "lost" species by the Search for Lost Birds program due to a lack of documented sightings for at least 10 years.
• The Mindoro bleeding-heart is a ground-dwelling pigeon endemic to Mindoro, with distinctive features including an orange-red spot on its white chest, iridescent green plumage on head and neck, blue-green and brown upper parts, brown wings, and a single whitish wing bar.
• The last confirmed record of the species was in 2005, when an individual was caught in a snare intended for red junglefowl near a fruiting fig tree.
• The species is typically found at elevations around 400 meters (1,300 feet) and occasionally up to 800 meters (2,600 feet), but the camera trap photographed it above 900 meters (nearly 3,000 feet).
• Much of the lower slopes of Puerto Galera have been degraded as tourism grows, potentially pushing the birds toward less-accessible upper forests.
• Gonzalez called for establishing a legislated protected area covering the Mount Halcon-Mount Malasimbo Range, which currently has no government-designated protected area covering its entirety.