For more than two decades, scientists had no definitive proof that the Mindoro bleeding-heart remained alive. A single camera-trap photograph has now ended that uncertainty, confirming that one of the Philippines’ rarest birds still survives in its only known natural habitat.
The critically endangered pigeon was photographed Aug. 1, 2026, within the Iraya Mangyan ancestral domain in Mindoro, nearly 21 years after its last confirmed record in December 2005, when a snared bird near Sablayan Prison was photographed and released. The sighting resulted from an Indigenous-led conservation project involving Iraya Mangyan forest patrols and researchers from the Center for Conservation Innovations Philippines.
The photograph, however, showed more than the species’ continued survival. The bird was recorded at an elevation above 900 meters, exceeding its historically documented range and occurring well above the lowland forests traditionally associated with the species.
Researchers had earlier predicted that remaining Mindoro bleeding-hearts might increasingly seek refuge at higher elevations as lowland forests continue to disappear. The latest sighting falls within that projected area, raising the possibility that some birds are surviving in places where forest cover is still relatively intact.
The discovery does not indicate that the species is recovering. Only one bird was recorded, leaving its population, distribution and ability to reproduce uncertain. The high-altitude sighting also does not establish that the species is naturally expanding its range, as conservationists warn it could instead reflect the ongoing destruction and fragmentation of the lowland forests it previously inhabited.
The Mindoro bleeding-heart is found naturally only on Mindoro and remains listed as Critically Endangered. Agriculture, settlements, quarrying, logging, road construction and other forms of land conversion have steadily diminished and fragmented its habitat. Search for Lost Birds identifies it as just the third Critically Endangered lost bird rediscovered since 2022.
The rediscovery answers only one immediate question: the species has survived. The greater challenge now is determining whether enough of Mindoro’s remaining forests can be protected to ensure its continued survival, and whether enough individuals remain for the population to recover.
