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.

[1] Its natural habitat is lowland primary rainforest, lightly logged forest and old secondary growth.

[1] 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.

Although it occurs in a number of protected areas these have been subject to illegal logging, especially in the lawlessness caused by civil conflicts within its range.

[1] 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.