Lesser Elaenia

About the Lesser Elaenia

The lesser elaenia (Elaenia chiriquensis) is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, on Trinidad, in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay, and as a vagrant on Bonaire and Curaçao.

The lesser elaenia has two subspecies, the nominate E. c. chiriquensis (Lawrence, 1865) and E. c. albivertex (Pelzeln, 1868). What is now Coopmans's elaenia (E. brachyptera) was previously a third subspecies of it. Based on a study published in 2015, taxonomic systems recognized it as a species starting in 2016.

The lesser elaenia is 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in) long and weighs 11.5 to 22 g (0.41 to 0.78 oz). It is a small elaenia with a small squarish crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a grayish olive head with lighter cheeks, a thin whitish eyering, and a partially hidden white patch on the crown. Their upperparts are grayish olive. Their wings are mostly dusky with whitish edges on the flight feathers. The tips of the coverts are white and show as two wide bars on the closed wing. Their tail is dusky. Their... Wikipedia →