Negros Bleeding-heart
Also known as: Negros bleeding heart dove · Bleeding-heart pigeon of Negros · Punalada (local usage among birdkeepers)
Definition
The Negros bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba keayae) is a critically endangered ground-dove endemic to the islands of Negros and Panay in the Philippines. Named for the patch of vivid red feathers on its white breast, which resembles a bleeding wound, it is one of five bleeding-heart pigeon species found only in the country. It inhabits the floor of lowland and lower montane rainforest, where its rarity makes almost every sighting a significant ornithological event.
Identities (Wikipedia/Wikidata/DBpedia)
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negros_bleeding-heart
- Wikidata: Q585535
- DBpedia: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Negros_bleeding-heart
Also Known As
- Negros bleeding heart dove
- Bleeding-heart pigeon of Negros
- Punalada (local usage among birdkeepers)
Examples and Analogies
Like other Philippine bleeding-hearts, the species recalls a small, short-tailed dove that appears to have been wounded at the chest. Its plight is often compared to that of the Negros striped-babbler: both are indicator species of the nearly vanished lowland forests of the Negros-Panay faunal region.
Usage Scenarios
The bird is a flagship species for conservation education in the Visayas. It appears in biodiversity training for park rangers, in ecotourism briefings on Negros and Panay, and in scientific surveys that use its presence as evidence of intact primary forest.
Strategies
Conservation strategies include protection of remaining forest fragments, captive breeding and reinforcement programs run by Philippine conservation foundations, and biographical surveys on Panay where remnant populations persist. Reforestation with native hardwoods aims to reconnect isolated forest patches.
Security and Safety Measures
Because the species is targeted by wildlife traffickers supplying the cage-bird trade, conservationists withhold precise location data of recent sightings. Anti-poaching patrols operate around protected areas, and the species is on the national list of threatened fauna that cannot be collected or traded without permits.
Historical Context
Scientifically described in 1897 during the era of intensive collection on Negros, the species declined as Negros lost most of its lowland forest to sugar plantations, among the worst deforestation in the Philippines. By the late 20th century it was feared extinct on Negros until small populations were rediscovered, while a larger but still fragile population survives on Panay.
Challenges and Controversies
Fewer than a few hundred mature individuals are estimated to survive. Captive-breeding programs have struggled with low numbers of founders, and debates continue over whether reintroduced birds can survive outside strictly guarded forests. Snare-trapping and slash-and-burn farming remain persistent threats even inside protected zones.