Gallicolumba


Gallicolumba is a mid-sized genus of ground-dwelling doves which occur in rainforests on the Philippines, Indonesia, and in the Pacific region. They are not closely related to the American ground doves. Rather, the present genus is closest to the thick-billed ground dove.
This genus includes the bleeding-hearts known from the Philippines. Most are named for their vivid-red patch on the breast, which looks startlingly like a bleeding wound in some species and has reminded naturalists of a dagger stab. The diet of doves of this genus consists of fruits and seed.

Systematics and extinctions

Gallicolumba might be ranked as a subfamily, but the available data suggests that they are better considered part of a quite basal radiation of Columbidae which consists of many small and often bizarre lineages.
The genus contains seven species:
Many of the Pacific ground doves were removed from Gallicolumba and reassigned to genus Alopecoenas.