diff --git a/cogl/cogl-bitmap-private.h b/cogl/cogl-bitmap-private.h
index 57a16dcda..cc7cc83d8 100644
--- a/cogl/cogl-bitmap-private.h
+++ b/cogl/cogl-bitmap-private.h
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
 
 #include "cogl-handle.h"
 
-typedef struct _CoglBitmap
+struct _CoglBitmap
 {
   CoglHandleObject _parent;
   guint8          *data;
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ typedef struct _CoglBitmap
   int              width;
   int              height;
   int              rowstride;
-} CoglBitmap;
+};
 
 gboolean
 _cogl_bitmap_can_convert (CoglPixelFormat src, CoglPixelFormat dst);
diff --git a/cogl/cogl-bitmap.c b/cogl/cogl-bitmap.c
index 77a28c76a..36219ae10 100644
--- a/cogl/cogl-bitmap.c
+++ b/cogl/cogl-bitmap.c
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
 
 static void _cogl_bitmap_free (CoglBitmap *bmp);
 
-COGL_HANDLE_DEFINE (Bitmap, bitmap);
+COGL_OBJECT_DEFINE (Bitmap, bitmap);
 
 static void
 _cogl_bitmap_free (CoglBitmap *bmp)
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ cogl_bitmap_get_size_from_file (const char *filename,
   return _cogl_bitmap_get_size_from_file (filename, width, height);
 }
 
-CoglHandle
+CoglBitmap *
 cogl_bitmap_new_from_file (const char  *filename,
                            GError     **error)
 {
@@ -185,6 +185,6 @@ cogl_bitmap_new_from_file (const char  *filename,
     }
 
   ret = g_memdup (&bmp, sizeof (CoglBitmap));
-  return _cogl_bitmap_handle_new (ret);
+  return _cogl_bitmap_object_new (ret);
 }
 
diff --git a/cogl/cogl-bitmap.h b/cogl/cogl-bitmap.h
index f6bce86c9..6368841ae 100644
--- a/cogl/cogl-bitmap.h
+++ b/cogl/cogl-bitmap.h
@@ -32,6 +32,8 @@
 
 G_BEGIN_DECLS
 
+typedef struct _CoglBitmap CoglBitmap;
+
 /**
  * SECTION:cogl-bitmap
  * @short_description: Fuctions for loading images
@@ -51,12 +53,12 @@ G_BEGIN_DECLS
  * Loads an image file from disk. This function can be safely called from
  * within a thread.
  *
- * Return value: a #CoglHandle to the new loaded image data, or
- *   %COGL_INVALID_HANDLE if loading the image failed.
+ * Return value: a #CoglBitmap to the new loaded image data, or
+ *   %NULL if loading the image failed.
  *
  * Since: 1.0
  */
-CoglHandle
+CoglBitmap *
 cogl_bitmap_new_from_file (const char *filename,
                            GError **error);