CreatureData

Eastern plantain-eater

Crinifer zonurus (Rüppell, 1835)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The eastern plantain-eater (Crinifer zonurus) is a species in the family Musophagidae, order Musophagiformes. Recorded adults weigh 501 g to 642.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Eastern plantain-eater (Crinifer zonurus)
Photo: Louis Agassiz Fuertes · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the eastern plantain-eater

Weight
501 g – 642.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Frugivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grasslandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2.4 – 2.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the eastern plantain-eater live?

Not recorded

What is the eastern plantain-eater?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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 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.

From the Wikipedia article “Eastern plantain-eater” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eastern_plantain-eater&oldid=1377426768), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the eastern plantain-eater endangered?

The eastern plantain-eater is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the eastern plantain-eater classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderMusophagiformes
  5. familyMusophagidae
  6. genusCrinifer
  7. SpeciesCrinifer zonurus (Rüppell, 1835)

Synonyms Chizaerhis zonurus, Crinifer africanus zonurus

Other names and names in other languages (36)
  • Eastern gray plantain-eaterEnglish
  • Eastern grey plantain-eaterEnglish
  • EPEAEnglish
  • آكل موز الجنة الرمادي الشرقيArabic
  • turac gris orientalCatalan
  • sparák žíhanýCzech
  • twraco llwyd y DwyrainWelsh
  • Østlig LarmfuglDanish
  • Østafrikansk LarmfuglDanish
  • BindenlärmvogelGerman
  • Γκρι Ζώνουρο ΤουράκοGreek
  • strivosta turakoEsperanto
  • Turaco gris orientalSpanish
  • ida-rohtlaturakoEstonian
  • idänharmaaturakoFinnish
  • Touraco à queue barréeFrench
  • Touraco gris d'AbyssinieFrench
  • smeđoglavi turakoCroatian
  • keleti lármásmadárHungarian
  • Turaco grigio orientaleItalian
  • ヒガシハイイロエボシドリJapanese
  • dryžasis bananlesysLithuanian
  • BandstaartbananeneterDutch
  • sotturakoNorwegian
  • hałaśnik buryPolish
  • turaco-de-cauda-barradaPortuguese
  • Полосатый бананоедRussian
  • Полосатый бананоед-подорожникRussian
  • halasník popolavýSlovak
  • Istočni turako bananašSerbian
  • östlig larmfågelSwedish
  • Doğu Yeleli TurakosuTurkish
  • Doğu Plantinci TurakogiliTurkish
  • галасник руандійськийUkrainian
  • 东非灰蕉鹃Chinese
  • 東非灰蕉鵑Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the eastern plantain-eater

Other species in the same genus Crinifer.

Grey lourie

Crinifer concolor

MusophagidaeNo free photo yet

CompareEastern plantain-eater vs Western plantain-eaterEastern plantain-eater vs White-bellied go-away birdEastern plantain-eater vs Grey lourieEastern plantain-eater vs Bare-faced go-away bird

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the eastern plantain-eater?

An adult eastern plantain-eater weighs 501 g – 642.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the eastern plantain-eater endangered?

The eastern plantain-eater is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the eastern plantain-eater?

The eastern plantain-eater (Crinifer zonurus) belongs to the family Musophagidae in the order Musophagiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Eastern plantain-eater (Crinifer zonurus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-plantain-eater

MLA

“Eastern plantain-eater (Crinifer zonurus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-plantain-eater.

BibTeX
@misc{eastern_plantain_eater_2026,
  title = {Eastern plantain-eater (Crinifer zonurus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-plantain-eater},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}