Lesser Elaenia
Elaenia chiriquensis
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. Voice: The lesser elaenia's dawn song is a "very high, hurried, 'tju-wee tju-weederwee' " whose "wee" notes are higher than the others. It has many calls including "a clear, whistled 'weeééa' " and a "burry 'beer-ta' or 'chí-bur' or 'jwebu' ", and "a longer 'freee' ".
ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Small-billed Elaenia
Elaenia parvirostris
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
Where you might meet both
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Play today's Daily BirdPhotos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Lesser Elaenia and Small-billed Elaenia.