Greenish Elaenia

Overview

The greenish elaenia, Myiopagis viridicata, is a species of tyrant flycatcher found across Mexico, Central America, and most mainland South American countries. Assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN, it maintains an extremely large range with an estimated population of at least 500,000 mature individuals, although this is believed to be decreasing.

Identification

• Measures 13 to 14 cm in length and weighs 11 to 13 g.
• Features a greenish olive crown with a partially concealed bright yellow stripe, dark loral streak, whitish gray supercilium, and grizzled whitish ear coverts.
• Upperparts are olive-green, wings are dusky with yellowish edges on inner flight feathers, and the tail is dusky olive.
• Throat is pale gray to whitish, with a pale grayish white breast showing variable light olive streaks and a pale yellow belly.

Habitat

This species inhabits a wide variety of wooded landscapes, including humid tropical evergreen forest, gallery forest, semi-deciduous and deciduous forest, taller scrublands, mature secondary forest, and citrus and coffee plantations. It occurs from sea level up to 1,500 m in Mexico and Central America, and up to 1,100 m in Brazil, though it favours várzea in Peru.

Diet

The greenish elaenia feeds mostly on insects, supplemented by fruits, seeds, and insect eggs. It forages from the forest understory to the canopy, usually singly or in pairs, and occasionally joins mixed-species feeding flocks. Typical foraging techniques include hover-gleaning from vegetation and short sallies from a perch.

Did you know?

Despite its vast distribution, the bird is considered uncommon to common but is often overlooked. Its vocalisations vary significantly by region, with populations in western Mexico singing a high-pitched, sweet, alternating two- and one-note phrase, while those in Central America produce an alternating series of burry, buzzy phrases.