Mindanao bleeding-heart  (Gallicolumba crinigera)

The Mindanao bleeding-heart is rapidly declining in numbers due to extensive destruction of the lowland forest it inhabits (1). For example, in 1988, approximately only 29 percent of Mindanao’s forest remained, and aerial surveys of Basilan in 1992 showed that only two percent of the island’s natural forest remained (7). This shocking loss is the result of logging and mining, particularly chromite surface-mining (5). All terrestrial birds in the Philippines are also threatened by trapping, for food and trade (1).

This forest pigeon occurs in several protected areas, including Rajah Sikatuna National Park on Bohol, but the actual protection provided varies between parks, and in some, destruction of the forest continues (8). Laws to restrict hunting of the Mindanao bleeding-heart also exist throughout its range, but are rarely enforced (5). Increased enforcement of hunting laws, protected areas, and the creation of new reserves, is required to halt the decline of this endangered bird (1).

There is currently a European breeding programme in place for this species, which aims to provide a self-sustaining captive population and develop important care and breeding techniques that can be used on wild populations in the Philippines (6). The programme, coordinated by Bristol Zoo Gardens, has successfully bred the Mindanao bleeding-heart every year since 1998, and it is hoped that once their wild habitat is securely protected, the birds may be returned to the wild (6) (9)