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 ~20% in a week ~50%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Grey Plantain-eater sighting in Virunga National Park on a given day, based on 33 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 132nd most-seen of the 316 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and June
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Grey Plantain-eater in Virunga National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August–September and November–March, 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.
7th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Eastern Grey Plantain-eater sightings, Virunga National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kidepo Valley National Park (Uganda, about 50%), 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 Virunga National Park (family Musophagidae, Turacos) are Ruwenzori Turaco (about 20%) and Ross' Turaco (about 10%), 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 Virunga National Park (33 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.
