the young return to roost on it with their parents. Relationship with humans In the lore of Sierra Leone's indigenous people, the often bizarre rock formations near which the white-necked rockfowl lives were believed to house ancestral spirits. Its residence there led it to be considered a guardian of the formations, leading to a degree of residual respect for the species that persists despite the beliefs that spawned this respect being practically extinct. However, in some regions the rockfowl's secretive habits and inaccessible habitat have meant it was unknown to the local population. Conversely, migrant Liberian hunters sometimes catch the nestlings for food. Due to this species' uniqueness it became a symbol for ecotourism and rainforest conservation in the region in the 1990s. The white-necked rockfowl has been depicted on numerous postage stamps from Ghana and Sierra Leone. Due to its strange appearance and behavior and the difficulty in seeing the species, this bird is considered particularly fascinating by birdwatchers. This species is considered to be one of the five most desirable birds in Africa by ornithologists. This species also helped launch Sir David Attenborough's career in 1954, when he was the producer on the new television program Zoo Quest. The show's presenter Jack Lester was required to travel to Africa to record attempts to capture animals for display in zoos, with the focus of the series being on the white-necked rockfowl. However, when he fell ill, Attenborough took his place, which launched him into the limelight and starting his narrating career. Conservation This species is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN due to its highly fragmented distribution, dwindling population, and habitat destruction. It is considered to be less common and more threatened than the closely related grey-necked rockfowl. The stronghold of the species is in Sierra Leone and southern Guinea, where the bird is still locally common if difficult to locate. It is estimated that only 2,500 to 10,000 white-necked rockfowl survive, with the population dwindling and spread out over a known 32 sites; however, most individuals studying this species believe that the population is far fewer than the 10,000 maximum. Many of its colonies are currently approaching the minimum population size necessary to guarantee long-term viability against inbreeding. The primary threat is the commercial destruction of its habitat for timber. Although the white-necked rockfowl is capable of withstanding some disturbance of the nearby habitat, as demonstrated by one colony