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% in a week >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 |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Grey Plantain-eater sighting in Kidepo Valley National Park on a given day, based on 197 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 19th most-seen of the 332 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and December
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Grey Plantain-eater in Kidepo Valley National Park on a given day, against about 30% in June, the lowest month. April and May have too few records to rate.
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.
Yes
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Eastern Grey Plantain-eater sightings, Kidepo Valley National Park has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come Murchison Falls National Park (Uganda, about 40%) and Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Musophagidae
The closest relatives of the Eastern Grey Plantain-eater that you can see in Kidepo Valley National Park (family Musophagidae, Turacos) are White-Bellied Go-Away-Bird (about 50%) and White-crested Turaco (about 50%), 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 Kidepo Valley National Park (197 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
