About Crinifer piscator (Boddaert, 1783)
The western plantain-eater, whose scientific name is Crinifer piscator, is also commonly called the grey plantain-eater or western grey plantain-eater. It is a large member of the turaco family, a group of large arboreal near-passerine birds that live only in Africa. This species is a resident breeding bird found in open woodland habitats in tropical west Africa. It builds a tree platform nest, where it lays two or three eggs. Although these birds lack the bright coloring of relatives like the violet turaco, they are common, noisy, and easy to spot. They measure 50 cm in total length, which includes a long tail. Their upper plumage is mainly grey with brown spots. Their head, erectile crest, neck, and breast are brown with silver streaks. Their underparts are whitish, with heavy brown streaking. The western plantain-eater has a thick, bright yellow bill, and displays a white wing bar when in flight. Males and females look identical, but juvenile birds have a black woolly head with no silver streaking. This bird is similar to the closely related eastern plantain-eater. The eastern plantain-eater has white tail bars, and does not have the chest bars and dark wing feather shafts that the western plantain-eater has. The western plantain-eater feeds on fruit—especially figs—along with seeds and other vegetable matter. It makes a loud cow-cow-cow call, which is very well known across west Africa.
