Bird Guide

Large Elaenia vs Small-billed Elaenia

Large Elaenia (Elaenia spectabilis)

Large Elaenia

Elaenia spectabilis

Small27 gShrubland

The large elaenia is 16.5 to 18 cm (6.5 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 20 to 35 g (0.71 to 1.2 oz). It is a large elaenia with a small crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a mostly olive-brown head with a minimal or no white stripe in the middle of the crest. Their upperparts are dark grayish olive. Their wings are dusky with white tips on the coverts that show as three wing bars. Their tail is dusky. Their throat is grayish, their breast dark olive-gray, and their belly and undertail undertail coverts yellow. Voice: The large elaenia's dawn song is "a shrill, repetitious 'twee-wee-tweet' ". Its calls include "a soft 'cleeur' or 'wheeo' ", "wheer", and "cheer".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Large Elaenia
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Salta: Vaqueros, 12 km N Salta, Argentina · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Carlos Henrique Luz Nunes de Almeida · CC BY 3.0
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: Large Elaenia and Small-billed Elaenia.