A pigeon with a ‘bleeding heart’ has returned after 20 years: Rare Philippine bird spotted in 2026, but the reason for its return may not be good news
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 Center 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 in the landscape.”The photograph was the result of an indigenous-led initiative within the ancestral domain of Iraya Mangyan. The CCIPH attributed this to Iraya patrollers Alex, Melenciano, Cristito, Jay and Sonnyboy, citing their knowledge of the landscape, their sustained presence in the forest, and their 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 Program.“This record not only demonstrates that this very rare species continues to persist in these rugged rainforests, but solidifies the importance of Puerto Galera as a UNESCO biosphere reserve and an important sanctuary for this critically endangered species,” Juan Carlos González, ornithologist and bird curator at the University of the Philippines Los Baños Museum of Natural History, told Mongabay.The orange-red patch on the bird’s white breast, along with the iridescent green plumage on the head and neck, make it easily identifiable.
Gonzalez also pointed out its blue-green and brown upperparts, brown wings, and a single whitish wing bar, which distinguish it from other Philippine bleeding hearts. They are also called “bleeding heart” because they have a patch of deep red or orange feathers on their white chest that looks like an open, bleeding wound.
Decades of absence
The Mindoro bleeding heart is a ground 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 occurred in 2005, when an individual was caught in a trap intended for red jungle birds near a fig tree in full bloom. Other encounters were later reported, but not all could be verified, the CCIPH said.The prolonged absence led the Missing Bird Search program to list the pigeon as a “lost” species, a designation that covers birds that have not been 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 on both 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, usually found at elevations of around 400 meters (1,300 ft) and occasionally up to 800 m (2,600 ft). But the camera trap photographed it at more than 900 m (almost 3,000 feet).
“A lowland specialist that appears in a high-altitude forest is not necessarily a species that broadens its horizons,” the CCIPH researchers wrote. “It may be a species that is running out of lowlands to live on.
“Humid lowlands and transitional mid-mountain rainforests can still be found at about 900 m in the steep ridge, Gonzalez said. Much of the lower slopes of Puerto Galera have been degraded as tourism grows, which could push the birds into less accessible upper forests.
Berryman said the high-altitude record “raises hope that there may be more out there.”
Protecting the species
However, the sighting is not entirely positive, since the birds’ habitat, the forest, is also threatened. Berryman said the next priorities should be to safeguard as much suitable habitat as possible and conduct a comprehensive population assessment of the species. González called for the establishment of a legislated protected area covering the Monte Halcón-Monte Malasimbo mountain range, which he said currently has no government-designated protected area covering its entirety.In addition, he also called for stopping illegal logging and poaching, strengthening conservation education and preventing traps intended for red jungle birds from trapping bleeding hearts. He proposed safer trap designs and the use of indigenous expertise in wildlife tracking to support regulated ecotourism.“Whether it continues to pulse for another twenty years or another hundred will depend on whether we treat this image simply as an extraordinary record or allow the evidence it contains to change what we do next,” the CCIPH researchers wrote.
