The Gola malimbe or Ballman's malimbe (''Malimbus ballmanni'') is a species of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
in the family
Ploceidae
Ploceidae is a family of small passerine birds, many of which are called weavers, weaverbirds, weaver finches and bishops. These names come from the nests of intricately woven vegetation created by birds in this family. In most recent classifica ...
.
Description
The Gola malimbe is a black forest weaver, the males have an orange-yellow nape, bright golden-yellow crescent on the breast and golden yellow patch on the vent. The female is almost completely black with an indistinct yellowish crescent on the breast. Juveniles are similar to the adults but duller and the yellow on the breast extends to the throat.. Length is 17 cm.
Voice
The males song includes a series of unmusical, chattering sounds followed by a wheezing phrase and lasts roughly three seconds "''cheg chig cheg cheg chega zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz''", and is similar to that of the village weaver. The females' song is similar but lacks the wheezing part at the end "''cheg cheg chig chag chaaag cheg chiiig''".
[
]
Distribution and habitat
The Gola malimbe is found in west Africa where there are three known populations, the first in the Gola Forest in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
and in western Liberia, the second from eastern Liberia to western Ivory Coast and the third in Diecke Forest Reserve in Guinea.habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
is lowland primary rainforest, lightly logged forest and old secondary growth
In botany, secondary growth is the growth that results from cell division in the cambia or lateral meristems and that causes the stems and roots to thicken, while primary growth is growth that occurs as a result of cell division at the tips of ...
.
Habits
The Gola malimbe is usually found singly or in small groups in the canopy of the lower storey, between 8 and 22m from the ground, where it forages for insects. It will join mixed species flocks. There appear to be two breeding seasons, a minor breeding season in the short, intermediate dry season in July and August and a main breeding season in October and November
Conservation
The Gola malimbe is threatened by habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
, especially deforestation. Although it occurs in a number of protected areas these have been subject to illegal logging
Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corruption, corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, o ...
, especially in the lawlessness caused by civil conflicts within its range. Its conservation status is assessed as endangered.
Etymology
The common name and scientific name commemorate the German geoscientist Peter Ballmann who also collected birds, including one of the first specimens of this species.
References
External links
Gola malimbe
- Species text in Weaver Watch.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3042241
Gola malimbe
Birds of West Africa
Gola malimbe
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot