Photo courtesy of the Bronx Zoo

The Mindoro Bleeding Heart (Gallicolumba platenae) is a distinctive but rare bird, the last confirmed sighting of the Mindoro bleeding-heart in the wild was in 1997.

This medium-sized ground dove is named for the small, yet distinct, orange patch on its whitish breast, although this looks less like a ‘bleeding-heart’ than in other Gallicolumba species, which have a blood-red patch.

The Mindoro bleeding-heart has rich, dark chestnut upperparts, with a reddish-purple gloss on the back and shoulder feathers. The dark gray forehead shimmers with a touch of green and the bluish-gray tail contrasts with its chestnut rump.

It is endemic to the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, where it is restricted to a few remaining patches of lowland forest, mostly in the west and south of the island.

Little is known about the elusive Mindoro bleeding-heart. It spends most of its life on the forest floor, concealing itself in dense vegetation, and is therefore very difficult to observe. Its diet is not fully known, but it has been seen feeding at a fruiting fig tree. The nest of the Mindoro bleeding-heart is made of sticks and leaves, lined with fine rootlets and tendrils and situated in a tree or shrub, one or two meters above the ground. Nests have been found to contain two pale cream-colored eggs.

Threats

Mindoro’s forests have been devastated by human activities, such as logging, cultivation and rattan collection, and the bleeding-heart’s habitat has now been almost entirely eradicated. Populations in the remaining small forest patches continue to face intense pressure from deforestation and trapping. In addition, the beautifully patterned plumage of the Mindoro bleeding-heart makes it a target for trapping for domestic and export pet trade, and it is also hunted for food.

Conservation

The Mindoro bleeding-heart was last recorded in 1991 in Sablayan, the largest remaining patch of lowland forest, but there have been more recent, unconfirmed reports by local people from two other areas. It may be afforded a little protection in the Mount Iglit-Baco National Park, and hunting has been prohibited around Mount Malasimbo.

Thorough surveys of all these areas are urgently needed, to clarify the Mindoro bleeding-heart’s current distribution, and if any surviving populations are discovered, studies to determine its ecological requirements would help inform conservation actions. The protection of two key sites at which the bleeding-heart is believed to occur, Mount Halcon and Lake Naujan, is also likely to benefit this critically endangered bird.

*Sources: Haribon Foundation