Crinifer zonurus
Silhouette: Lisa M. "Pixxl" (photo), John E. McCormack, Michael G. Harvey, Brant C. Faircloth, Nicholas G. Crawford, Travis C. Glenn, Robb T. Brumfield & T. Michael Keesey · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The eastern plantain-eater (Crinifer zonurus) also known as the eastern grey plantain-eater, is a large member of the turaco family, a group of large arboreal near-passerine birds restricted to Africa. This species is a resident breeder in open woodland habitats in tropical east Africa. It lays two or three eggs in a tree platform nest.
These are common, noisy and conspicuous birds, despite lacking the brilliant colours of relatives such as the violet turaco. They are 50 cm (20 in) long, including a long tail, and weigh 392–737 g (13.8–26.0 oz). Their plumage is mainly grey above spotted with brown. The head, erectile crest, neck and breast are brown streaked with silver. The underparts are whitish, heavily streaked with brown.
The eastern plantain-eater has a thick bright yellow bill, and shows a white wing bar in flight. The sexes are identical, but immature individuals have a black woolly head without silver streaking. This bird is similar to the closely related western plantain-eater. However, eastern plantain-eater has white tail bars, and lacks the chest bars and dark wing feather shafts of its western relative.
This species feeds on fruit, especially figs, and other vegetable matter. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 4 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 5 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 6 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 7 | Virunga National Park | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo | |
| 8 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 9 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 10 | Semuliki National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 11 | Bwindi Impenetrable National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Grey Plantain-eater sighting in Kampala on a given day, based on 1,943 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 332 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and August–September
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Grey Plantain-eater in Kampala on a given day, against about 70% in June–July and October–April, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Grey Plantain-eater sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Kampala, in our data
Kampala is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Eastern Grey Plantain-eater sightings: about 70% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Musophagidae
The closest relatives of the Eastern Grey Plantain-eater that you can see in Kampala (family Musophagidae, Turacos) are Great Blue Turaco (about 50%) and Ross' Turaco (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Grey Plantain-eater is recorded against all the birds logged in Kampala (1,943 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
