This fruit dove is known from a single female specimen collected from the slopes of Mount Kanlaon in the northern part of the island.

The species has not been definitively reported since its original discovery in 1953, and as several searches of Mount Kanlaon and the surrounding forests have not discovered any sign of the bird, many believe that it may be extinct.

[2] This specimen, collected near Pula on the slopes of Mount Kanlaon in the Philippines, was shot along with a second bird, presumed to be its mate, which was lost in the undergrowth.

"[6] Some authors have suggested that the specimen was either a runt of either the yellow-breasted fruit dove or a Treron pigeon, or a hybrid instead of a unique species; however, these views are generally considered invalid due in part to the distinctiveness of the specimen, particularly in the bare skin around the eye, and no proper evidence has suggested that the Negros fruit dove is an invalid species.

The female is a vivid dark green overall with an ash-grey forehead above an extensive ring of bare yellow skin that surrounds the eye.

[11] The greater coverts and tertial feathers have broad yellow fringes that create a narrow, if conspicuous, wingbar when the wing is folded.

"[3] It is suspected that the species preferred habitat at a lower altitude, and that the collected pair may have been driven to higher elevations by deforestation in the lowlands.

[11][13] If the species still exists, it is likely that habitat destruction for agriculture, timber, and charcoal-burning and hunting, a common problem for all other pigeons on Negros, are major threats.

[8] This discovery and the presence of unexplored lowland forests on Panay give hope that the Negros fruit dove may still exist in low numbers on a nearby island.