Small-billed Elaenia (Elaenia parvirostris)

Identification & Behavior: ~13.5 cm (5.2 in).  The Small-billed Elaenia has a gray-olive back. The wing coverts are blackish with three whitish wing bars. It shows a relatively short roundish crest with a central white crown patch. It shows pale lores, a whitish eye-ring, and a relatively short bill with yellow-orange lower mandible. The underparts are pale gray with yellowish flanks. It forages in forest edges, second growth, semi-open habitats, and river islands in Amazonia. It is similar to the Lesser Elaenia but differs in having blackish wing coverts and well-defined wing bars and whitish eye-ring. Voice and habitat use need to be considered for proper identification.

Status: The Small-billed Elaenia is an uncommon Austral migrant in Amazonia where it is known to range up to 1400 m along the foothill of the Andes. It is expected in Peru during the months of March through November. The Small-billed Elaenia also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Fío-Fío de Pico Chico.

Sub-species: Small-billed Elaenia (Elaenia parvirostris), Pelzeln, 1868.

Meaning of Name: Elaenia: Gr. elaineos= of olive-oil, oleaginous. parvirostris: L. parvus= small and rostris, rostrum = billed, beak.

See more of the Family Tyrannidae