Small-billed Elaenia

Overview

The small-billed elaenia (Elaenia parvirostris) is a small tyrant flycatcher found across mainland South America, excluding Chile, as well as in Aruba and Trinidad. It is a highly migratory species that moves from its breeding grounds in the south to overwinter in northern South America and coastal islands.

Identification

• Length ranges from 13 to 15 cm, featuring a small size with a notably short, stubby black bill that has a dull pinkish base.
• Upperparts are bright olive-green, while the lowerparts include a gray throat, slightly darker gray breast, and whitish belly and undertail coverts.
• Wings are dusky with three distinct white wing bars from the covert tips, and the tail is also dusky.
• Song is described as a stuttering, deep, gravelly 'PEE-jip-p'p'jooee' or a hurried 'Wee-dr-dee-wuh'; it remains mostly silent in winter except for a soft 'cheeu' call.

Habitat

Breeding occurs in somewhat open landscapes such as forest edges, riparian and secondary forests, taller shrublands, parks, and gardens in eastern and southeastern South America. During the austral winter, the range expands northward to include savanna, humid forest canopies, and river islands. It is considered common in most of its breeding and wintering range, though uncommon in parts of Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela.

Diet

This species feeds on insects and small fruits, typically foraging singly or in small groups of congeners, and occasionally joining mixed-species flocks. It captures prey and plucks fruit by gleaning while perched or hovering briefly, and also catches flying insects on the wing.

Did you know?

An individual was documented in Florida in 2025, adding to a rare history of vagrants that also includes occurrences in Illinois, Texas, and Quebec.