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 ~70% 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 40% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Grey Plantain-eater sighting in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, based on 371 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 41st most-seen of the 424 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–March and June–August
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Grey Plantain-eater in Murchison Falls National Park on a given day, against about 20% in May and November, 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.
2nd of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Eastern Grey Plantain-eater sightings, Murchison Falls National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Kidepo Valley National Park (Uganda, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Grey Plantain-eater is recorded against all the birds logged in Murchison Falls National Park (371 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.
