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🇮🇳 India /Environment & Climate

Mindoro bleeding-heart pigeon photographed again after 20 years, but its return brings new concern

From Times of India · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Researchers confirmed that the critically endangered Mindoro bleeding-heart pigeon still survives in the wild after a camera trap photographed one in Mindoro’s Puerto Galera rainforest.
  • Indigenous Iraya Mangyan patrollers and conservationists made the discovery, the first confirmed photograph of the species in 20 years.
  • The record reinforces Puerto Galera’s importance as a sanctuary, while the species remains at extremely high risk of extinction.

A single camera-trap image has brought the Mindoro bleeding-heart pigeon back from the category of birds feared lost. The photograph, taken in August in the Puerto Galera rainforest on the Philippine island of Mindoro, is the first confirmed image of the species in two decades.

For an extremely rare and secretive species, a single image can carry enormous weight.

· CCIPH researchersThe researchers explained why the camera-trap photograph matters for confirming the pigeon’s survival.

The Centre for Conservation Innovation Ph Inc. said the discovery confirms that Gallicolumba platenae still survives in the landscape. “For an extremely rare and secretive species, a single image can carry enormous weight,” its researchers wrote. “It confirms that the bird continues to survive within the landscape.”

The image came from an Indigenous-led project in the Iraya Mangyan ancestral domain. Iraya patrollers Alex, Melenciano, Cristito, Jay, and Sonnyboy worked with CCIPH researchers John Bibar and Joshua Manila, who deployed camera traps through the Mindoro Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Programme. CCIPH credited the patrollers’ knowledge of the landscape, continued presence in the forest, and stewardship of their ancestral domain.

It confirms that the bird continues to survive within the landscape.

· CCIPH researchersThe statement described what the first confirmed photograph in two decades established.

Ornithologist Juan Carlos Gonzalez said the record proves that the rare bird persists in Mindoro’s steep rainforests and strengthens the case for protecting Puerto Galera as a UNESCO biosphere reserve and sanctuary. The pigeon is identifiable by its orange-red chest patch, iridescent green head and neck, blue-green and brown upper parts, brown wings, and single whitish wing bar. The “bleeding-heart” name refers to the vivid red or orange feathers on its white chest.

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.

· Juan Carlos GonzalezThe ornithologist assessed the conservation importance of the sighting.

The species was once described as common in Mindoro’s forests, but confirmed sightings became extremely rare in the second half of the 20th century. The last confirmed record before this photograph came in 2005, when a bird was caught in a snare intended for red junglefowl. Later reports could not all be verified. Its prolonged absence led the Search for Lost Birds program to classify it as lost, while the IUCN lists it as critically endangered.

Birds that find themselves on both these lists are of particular concern.

· Alex BerrymanBirdLife International’s species conservation assessment lead referred to the pigeon’s classification as both lost and critically endangered.
About this summary

Originally published by Times of India in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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