Western Grey Plantain-Eater
Place to admire: Tropical Paradise
Scientific name: Crinifer piscator
IUCN-status: Least concern
General Information
The Western Grey Plantain-Eater has some threats in the wild thanks to humans. Habitat loss and habitat fragmentation occurs in this bird species due to human activities such as deforestation, agriculture and urbanization. In addition, humans hunt this species for its meat and feathers.
Habitat
The Western Grey Plantain-Eater lives sedentary in the northern part of Africa. This bird species inhabits all types of open forested savannas and agricultural lands, from Sehal acacia steppe to the edge of the rainforest zone.
Appearance
The Western Grey Plantain-Eater has a size of about 50 centimeters. The name itself gives it away, but this bird species is mainly gray. The bird has a crested head and a long tail. On the under breast there are black stripes. The most striking feature of this bird species is the large and strong bill with a bright lemon yellow color. The base of this beak is greenish.
Diet
The Western Grey Plantain-Eater is a herbivore. This means that the bird mainly eats plant material.
The diet of this bird species consists of fruits, leaves, blossoms and seeds. In the wild, the bird eats figs, mangoes, guavas, sapodilla beans and dates.
The Western Grey Plantain-Eater prefers to feed on unripe fruits. This is because these are easier to digest and provide essential nutrients.
Social behavior
The Western Grey Plantain-Eater lives in small family groups and in larger flocks outside the breeding season. During the breeding season, this bird species lives in pairs. The group usually contains 5 to 10 individuals. This provides increased vigilance against predators and better access to foraging areas.
This bird species produces a loud and raucous “cow-cow-cow” call. With this, the bird wants to keep the group together and ward off potential threats. In fact, the song also plays an important role in maintaining social ties within the group.
Natural behavior
The Western Grey Plantain-Eater goes foraging in groups early in the morning and late in the afternoon. This allows the bird to take advantage of cooler temperatures. The Western Grey Plantain-Eater travels greater distances between roosting site and foraging site. The bird has a strong and buoyant flight, but does not like to climb, run and jump along tree branches.
With its strong and large bill, the bird easily plucks fruit from trees. The Western Grey Plantain-Eater throws the fruit in the air and it ends up in its mouth.
