Biology

The scientific name of the Mindanao bleeding-heart hints at the behaviour of this bird. Galli means chicken and columba means pigeon, and this is a pigeon spends much of its time on the ground searching for food, like a chicken (6), moving through the forest floor, looking out for seeds, fallen berries, worms and other insects (2), and only perching in a tree when roosting and breeding (5). The Mindanao bleeding-heart is a very shy bird, and its tendency to conceal itself may be why it is rarely encountered. When threatened, it prefers to run rapidly away, rather than fly (5). There is not much information regarding the breeding behaviour of this bleeding-heart, but it is thought to take place during the rainy season, between March and June (4). In the wild, single eggs have been found in stick and bamboo nests in May (2).