The Red-crowned Malimbe is found in primary lowland rain forest in central Africa. It is a solitary nester, but several birds may help build the nest before a single pair is left to breed. This species is probably monogamous.

The nest is untidy, being made almost entirely of dead, dry plant material like vine tendrils, small twigs and petioles. The nest is suspended by a long liana anchoring structure and has a wide entrance tube. The nest is difficult to construct, and a group works together in bouts, birds coming to work one after the other. Most nests are abandoned while building, with much nest material falling from the nest. A completed nest, however, is thought to be an effective anti-predator device. It takes about 2 weeks to complete a nest.

While guiding in Gabon, Michael Mills found a Red-crowned Malimbe building a nest and this week submitted the first PHOWN record for the species (see phown 3663). Julian Francis, a tour participant, took the photo (left).

As more records are added, via the Virtual Museum upload site, for this species, the species summary page will be updated here.