Great Elaenia

About the Great Elaenia

The great elaenia (Elaenia dayi) is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Brazil and Venezuela. The great elaenia has three subspecies, the nominate E. d. dayi (Chapman, 1929), E. d. auyantepui (Zimmer, JT & Phelps, WH, 1952), and E. d. tyleri (Chapman, 1929). The last had been originally described as a separate species. The great elaenia, the highland elaenia (E. obscura), and the small-headed elaenia (E. sordida) are sister species.

The great elaenia is about 20 cm (7.9 in) long and weighs 29 to 40 g (1.0 to 1.4 oz). It is the largest elaenia; it has a long tail and a very small or no crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark sooty brown head with a blacker crown, lighter cheeks, and a thin whitish broken eyering. Their upperparts are dark sooty brown. Their wings are mostly dark sooty brown with whitish edges on some flight feathers. The tips of their wing coverts are whitish and show as two bars on the closed wing. Their tail is dusky. Their underparts are mostly dull olive-gray with a lighter throat and a pale yellowish belly... Wikipedia →