Rare bleeding-heart pigeon spotted in Philippines after 20 years

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.