Eastern Plantain-eater Crinifer zonurus Scientific name definitions

c. 50 cm; 501–737 g (1 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Distinguished from <em>C. piscator</em> by white in tail , scalloped (not spotted) upperparts with less conspicuous shaft streaks, unstreaked lower belly. Forehead, crown, lores and cheeks dark brown; shaggy nuchal crest of narrow, pointed hindcrown feathers up to 35 mm long, dark brown with whitish tips; sides of neck and breast  dark brown, washed and streaked silvery; upper back and wing-coverts grey, feathers with dark shaft streaks, no dark spots at tip but with whole end dark, forming brownish scallops on greyish-brown background; rump and uppertail-coverts grey with dark shafts; middle third of outer tail white (conspicuous in flight  ), while central rectrices all greyish brown  and becoming dark brown at tip; outer four rectrices whitish, grading to blackish brown at base, with broad blackish-brown tips 50–65 mm deep; secondaries and primary-coverts blackish brown; primaries blackish, with white central part of inner webs forming conspicuous wingbar in flight  ; chin and throat brown, feathers of throat and upper breast tipped buffy-white; lower breast and upper belly whitish with indistinct grey-brown streaking; lower belly and vent off-white without dark streaks; bill  large, greenish yellow; eyes dark brown; legs and feet brownish black. Juvenile similar to adult.

Eritrea, Ethiopian Rift Valley and W highlands, South Sudan, SE Central African Republic, N & NE DRCongo S through Uganda and Rwanda to SE DRCongo (R Niemba and upper R Lualaba), W Burundi, NW Tanzania E to Mwanza, Serengeti and R Malagarasi, and W Kenya from Mt Elgon S to R Mara; also disjunctly in SE Chad and SW Sudan (2 Nikolaus, G. (1987). Distribution Atlas of Sudan’s Birds with Notes on Habitat and Status. Bonner Zoologische Monographien 25. Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Koenig, Bonn. 322 pp. Close ) (where possibly sympatric with C. piscator).

Inhabits all types of open wooded savannas and cultivation; locally common also in many well-timbered suburban parks and gardens, particularly around Kampala and Entebbe in Uganda. Mainly below 1500 m, but occurs at up to 1900 m on Mt Elgon (Kenya) and to 1630 m in parts of Ethiopia (3 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

While largely sedentary throughout its range, some local dry-season movements, possibly governed by availability of food, have been noted in Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania.

Primarily fruits , including Ficus and Musanga; also flowers of Daniellia oliveri in West Nile Province of NW Uganda. Usually seen alone or in pairs, occasionally groups of 3–4, which are presumably family parties (3 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Main call is mix of clucking, yapping and hysterical-sounding cackling notes, similar to, but faster and higher-pitched than, C. piscator, a loud “kwah ... how-how-how...”, with the “kwah” note sometimes given alone, while in flight a low “ka” note sometimes accompanies each wingbeat (1 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ).

Breeds Mar–May in Sudan, Feb–Mar in Ethiopia (3 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), Nov–Mar in Zaire, Oct in Burundi, Aug–May in W Kenya, and Oct–Apr (mainly Feb) in Uganda (4 Carswell, M., D. Pomeroy, J. Reynolds, and H. Tushabe (2005). The Bird Atlas of Uganda. British Ornithologists’ Club and British Ornithologists' Union, Oxford, UK. Close ). Solitary nest; monogamous and territorial (1 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ). Nest an untidy platform of dry twigs and sticks built near top of a tall leafy tree. Lays 2–3 white eggs, size c. 43 mm × 38 mm (1 Fry, C. H., S. Keith, and E. K. Urban, Editors (1988). The Birds of Africa. Volume 3. Parrots to Woodpeckers. Academic Press, London, UK. Close ); incubation by both sexes.

Not globally threatened. Generally common in most parts of its range. Locally abundant in S Sudan, over much of Ethiopia (except SE) (3 Ash, J. S., and J. Atkins (2009). Birds of Ethiopia and Eritrea: An Atlas of Distribution. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), Uganda and throughout the L Victoria basin.