The Banded Wattle-eye

The Banded Wattle-eye (Platysteira laticincta) is another rare and little-known bird specie endemic to the Bamenda Highland region of Cameroon. It is globally threatened specie, classified as Endangered (EN) in the IUCN Red List. It has a very small and fragmented range, and is therefore the best indicator species for human impacts on its montane forest habitat, and faced with imminent danger of extinction.
The Kilum Forest was designated as a global conservation priority due to the presence of the wattle-eye and the other rare endemic plant and animal species. The Kilum-Ijim happens to be the last bastion of the specie.
The banded wattle-eye is portrayed in a traditional ‘Nokang’ dance by the local communities during cultural manifestations. Palace jujus are seen decorated with the colors of the Banded Wattle-eye because of the alluring nature of the bird. This bird is known in Oku as ‘Nokang koo’ which translates into ‘Nokang of the Forest’.
Since these species seems reluctant to cross open habitats, the small pockets of these birds that remain in forest fragments are in imminent danger of extinction. As a result, the banded wattle-eye is only thought likely to survive if the forest cover on Mount Oku (Kilum forest).