Bird Guide

Caribbean Elaenia vs Small-billed Elaenia

Caribbean Elaenia (Elaenia martinica)

Caribbean Elaenia

Elaenia martinica

Small21 gForest

The Caribbean elaenia is 14 to 18 cm (5.5 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 18 to 29 g (0.63 to 1.0 oz). It is largish elaenia and has a bushy crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies E. m. martinica have a dull olive to brownish olive crown with a white stripe in the middle of the crest. They have whitish lores and a faint whitish eyering on an otherwise mottled gray-brown face. Their upperparts are dull olive to brownish olive. Their wings are dusky with yellowish to whitish edges on the flight feathers and tips on the coverts; the latter show as two wing bars. Voice: The Caribbean elaenia's song is a "drawn-out pee-wee-reereeree". Its call is a repeated "jui-up, wit-churr".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Tommy Andriollo, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0
Small-billed Elaenia (Elaenia parvirostris)

Small-billed Elaenia

Elaenia parvirostris

Tiny14 gForest

The small-billed elaenia is 13 to 15 cm (5.1 to 5.9 in) long. It is a small elaenia without a crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a bright olive-green crown with a partially visible white stripe in the middle. They have whitish lores and a thin but distinct white eyering. Their upperparts are bright olive-green. Their wings are dusky with whitish tips on the coverts that show as three wing bars. Their flight feathers have narrow whitish edges. Their tail is dusky. Voice: The small-billed elaenia's dawn song is "a stuttering, deep, gravelly PEE-jip-p'p'jooee?". It has also been written as a "hurried, strong 'Wee-dr-dee-wuh' ". It is mostly silent on its wintering grounds but does make "a soft 'cheeu' " call there.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Reinaldo de Oliveira Elias, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Reinaldo de Oliveira Elias · cc-by

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Caribbean Elaenia and Small-billed Elaenia.