CreatureData

Western plantain-eater

Crinifer piscator (Boddaert, 1783)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The western plantain-eater (Crinifer piscator) is a species in the family Musophagidae, order Musophagiformes. Recorded adults weigh about 370 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Western plantain-eater (Crinifer piscator)
Photo: www.opencage photographer · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the western plantain-eater

Weight
370 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Frugivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
woodlandsrc 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 western plantain-eater live?

Not recorded

What is the western plantain-eater?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The western plantain-eater (Crinifer piscator), also known as the grey plantain-eater or western grey plantain-eater, is a large member of the turaco family, a group of large arboreal passerine-like birds restricted to Africa.

This species is a resident breeder in open woodland habitats in tropical west 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 long, including a long tail. 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 western plantain-eater has a thick bright yellow bill and shows a white wing bar in flight. The sexes are identical, but juveniles have a black woolly head without silver streaking.

This bird is similar to the closely related eastern plantain-eater. The latter species 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, seeds and other vegetable matter.

The Western plantain-eater has a loud cow-cow-cow call, which is very familiar in west Africa.

From the Wikipedia article “Western plantain-eater” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_plantain-eater&oldid=1365066677), 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 western plantain-eater endangered?

The western 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 western plantain-eater classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderMusophagiformes
  5. familyMusophagidae
  6. genusCrinifer
  7. SpeciesCrinifer piscator (Boddaert, 1783)

Synonyms Crinifer africana, Crinifer piscator obscuratus, Crinifer piscator piscator, Falco piscator, Phasianus africanus

Other names and names in other languages (42)
  • Western gray plantain-eaterEnglish
  • Western grey plantain-eaterEnglish
  • Western grey plantain-eaterEnglish
  • WPEAEnglish
  • آكل موز الجنة الرمادي الغربيArabic
  • turac gris occidentalCatalan
  • sparák hnědýCzech
  • sparák západníCzech
  • twraco llwyd y GorllewinWelsh
  • Vestlig LarmfuglDanish
  • Vestafrikansk LarmfuglDanish
  • SchwarzschwanzlärmvogelGerman
  • Schwarzschwanz-LärmvogelGerman
  • Γκρι ΤουράκοGreek
  • nigravosta turakoEsperanto
  • Turaco grisSpanish
  • Turaco gris occidentalSpanish
  • rohtlaturakoEstonian
  • harmaaturakoFinnish
  • Touraco grisFrench
  • prugasti turakoCroatian
  • nyugati lármásmadárHungarian
  • Turaco grigio occidentaleItalian
  • ハイイロエボシドリJapanese
  • pilkasis bananlesysLithuanian
  • Grijze BananeneterDutch
  • flekkturakoNorwegian
  • hałaśnik kreskowanyPolish
  • pavão-cinzentoPortuguese
  • turaco-cinzentoPortuguese
  • turaco-estriadoPortuguese
  • Чернохвостый бананоедRussian
  • Чернохвостый бананоед-подорожникRussian
  • halasník pásikavýSlovak
  • Zapadni turako bananašSerbian
  • Grå larmfågelSwedish
  • västlig larmfågelSwedish
  • Batı Yeleli TurakosuTurkish
  • Batı Plantinci TurakogiliTurkish
  • галасник сенегальськийUkrainian
  • 灰蕉鹃Chinese
  • 西非灰蕉鵑Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the western plantain-eater

Other species in the same genus Crinifer.

Grey lourie

Crinifer concolor

MusophagidaeNo free photo yet

CompareWestern plantain-eater vs Eastern plantain-eaterWestern plantain-eater vs White-bellied go-away birdWestern plantain-eater vs Grey lourieWestern plantain-eater vs Bare-faced go-away bird

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the western plantain-eater?

An adult western plantain-eater weighs 370 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the western plantain-eater endangered?

The western 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 western plantain-eater?

The western plantain-eater (Crinifer piscator) 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). Western plantain-eater (Crinifer piscator). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-plantain-eater

MLA

“Western plantain-eater (Crinifer piscator).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-plantain-eater.

BibTeX
@misc{western_plantain_eater_2026,
  title = {Western plantain-eater (Crinifer piscator)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-plantain-eater},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}