They are almost twice the size of the brown shrike, commonly called tarat. But they are slightly smaller compared to their domesticated cousins, the homing or racing pigeons, which are usually kept by your neighbor’s kids.
Unlike their bigger cousins, these elusive doves are definitely wild and free, and are not meant to be domesticated or become household pets.
Philippine wild doves, often brown, if not light brown-feathered, and sometimes grey-feathered birds, are masters of blending with their environment, whether in the dense forest or the city park near you.
Like most often ignored and dismissed as unimportant birds, the wild doves or pigeons, are unique and important to the ecosystems, in their own little ways.
Forest dwellers
According to the wildlife experts at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), most wild dove species prefer primary forests as their habitat.
But some also inhabit lowland forests with mixed primary and secondary growths, forest edges and secondary forests.
There are, however, some small-island specialists, such as the Sulu bleeding-heart.
Philippine doves are distributed in all major islands of the country, some are endemic to certain ranges.
These are the Mindoro bleeding-heart, which is known to exist on the Mindoro Island only; the Tawi tawi brown- dove, which exists exclusively in the Sulu archipelago; the Negros bleeding-heart and Negros fruit-dove, which are known to exist in Panay and Negros only.
But don’t be surprised if you see a wild dove perched on a tree in the city. They have learned to adapt and inhabit even city parks or the small green spaces in the urban jungle.
Diverse species
Many of the wild doves are known to occur in the Philippines, each with distinctive mark and some occurring in highly restricted range where the species is only known to occur and nowhere else in the world.
Sometimes, they are called Philippine fruit doves because of their diet, or feeding habit.
The Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the DENR said there are currently 36 species of wild doves and pigeons in the country.
Of these, 17 are endemic, or can only be found in the Philippines.
Unique birds
Wild pigeons or wild fruit doves are unique from other birds, according DENR-BMB Director Amelita D.J. Ortiz.
“Bird species of the Family Columbidae [to which wild doves belong] are incredibly complex and intelligent animals and are renowned for their outstanding navigational abilities,” she told the BusinessMirror via e-mail.
Responding to an e-mail query, Ortiz said wild doves use a range of skills, such as using the sun as a guide and an internal “magnetic compass,” like the home or racing pigeon.
“Pigeons for example, were used in both World War I and II as messengers and served as the sole source of the earliest large-scale communication network,” she said.
Unique characteristics
But there are also other characteristics that set the wild pigeons apart from other family of birds.
These include a bilobed crop that produces a sort of “milk” that is fed to the chicks. The “crop” is the pocket-like space near the bird’s throat.
It also has a monogamous mating behavior, which is attributed to the single pairing of a male with a female.
The pigeon species has the ability to drink by sucking or pumping, and it has thick feathers set close to the skin.
Wild doves possess stocky bodies with small heads bills, and feet.
Threatened species
Of the 36 species of wild doves in the Philippines, 19 are classified as threatened based on the DENR’s Department Administrative Order 2019-09.
According to the DENR-BMB, seven species of the wild doves are now critically endangered or in the brink of extinction.
They are the Mindoro bleeding-heart, the Negros bleeding-heart, Sulu bleeding-heart, Amethyst brown dove, the Tawi tawi brown-dove, Negros fruit dove and the pink-bellied imperial pigeon—all are endemic to the Philippines.
Six others are “endangered and six more are vulnerable.”
Habitat loss
According to Ortiz, the main culprit for the possible extinction of these species is the destruction of their natural habitat due to encroaching shifting cultivation and selective logging in many areas in the country.
For instance, the destruction of primary forests in Negros has contributed to the near extinction of the Negros fruit dove.
“Secondary forest appears to be unsuitable for the species as it is not found in one of the only remaining areas of secondary forest in Negros,” she said.
Other threats to the bird are hunting and trapping for food, and collection for pet trade.
Seed eaters
Wild doves feed on fruits as seeds form the major component of the diet of doves and pigeons, but it varies greatly according to species.
Some ground feeding species eat fruit and take insects and worms.
The birds, being part of the food chain, are prey to snakes and raptors, or birds of prey, such as falcons, kites, eagles, owls and hawks.
In urban areas, there are reports that they are also attacked and eaten by cats.
Luzon bleeding -hearts
Recently, nine Luzon bleeding-heart pigeons—progenies of two pairs loaned to the Wildlife Reserves Singapore by the DENR—was freed in Norzagaray, Bulacan, with the hope that they will help increase the population of the unique doves in the area.
The Luzon bleeding-heart pigeon, named as such because of the reddish color extending from its breast to its belly, depicting blood running down form the heart, is a near-threatened species.
However, it was picked for conservation-breeding program outside the Philippines in order to ensure its breeding.
Global patrimony
At the moment, the DENR-BMB chief said there is no immediate plan to extend a similar arrangement for other wild dove species.
However, she said that a local captive breeding program for the Negros bleeding-heart is being undertaken by a conservation group, the Talarak Foundation, and is being supported by the Philippines Biodiversity Conservation Foundation.
Ortiz said there are plans for future re-introductions in Negros.
According to the DENR-BMB, as the DENR promotes open partnership or collaboration with capable institutions, both local and abroad, for the conservation of Philippine wildlife, especially the conservation of threatened species, it is open to the idea of entering into a wildlife loan agreement in the future.
It said the arrangement “provides an opportunity for global participation in the conservation of biological resources which is part of global patrimony.”
“Engaging various institutions for conservation breeding is also part of ex-situ conservation approach, which allows certain individuals of highly threatened [birds] to be maintained in separate facilities as assurance population in case of a catastrophe which befall natural populations,” she said.
Seed dispersers
Fruit doves, she said, are seed dispersers, a reason why like other birds and bats, it should be protected. As such, having them around is of tremendous benefit to the environment, in particular, the forest.
“They are seed dispersers. They expand vegetation naturally,” Theresa Mundita S. Lim, executive director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) told the BusinessMirror.
“In this Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, we should not focus only on tree planting to restore ecosystems, but also on the role of wild birds, such as doves and pigeons that can do the tree planting for us, and reach areas that would be difficult for human tree planters to access,” Lim said via Messenger on January 25.
Regional importance
Wild pigeons or wild fruit doves are also known to occur in other Southeast Asian countries, and like other wildlife they play very important roles in the ecosystem.
Wild doves and pigeons occur in Southeast Asia, but the Philippines has the most unique—the bleeding heart species.
Imperial pigeons and turtle doves, which are commonly found in Southeast Asia, Lim said, are tree planters that help nurse degraded forests.
A former director of the DENR-BMB, Lim said that while wild doves and pigeons are not known as long-distance travelers, it doesn’t mean that some species cannot cross borders in mainland Asia.
In fact, records show that more than one or two Asean member-states have common wild dove species in their forests, proof that these short-distance flyers are able to travel and thrive anywhere in the forest of Southeast Asia.
“Based on our records, at least 35 species of wild doves and pigeons are known to occur in more than one Asean member-states,” Lim said, a clear indication that these birds move and expand territories, hence, also extend their reach and benefit to the environment.
Image credits: Gregg Yan