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New World FLYCATCHERs

Order Passeriformes    Family Tyrannidae

The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) occur throughout North and South America. They are now considered the largest family of birds on Earth, with around 400 species. As could be expected from a family this large, the members vary greatly in habitat, shape, patterns and colors. Some Tyrant flycatchers superficially resemble the Old World flycatchers. Most, but not all, are rather plain, and many have erectile crests. Most are insectivorous, but some will eat fruit or small vertebrates.

The Tyrannidae family is presented in these web pages:
1) Tyrants, Black-Tyrants, Tit-Tyrants  2) Pygmy Tyrants, Tody-Flycatchers, Tody-Tyrants
3) Tyrants, Bush-Tyrants, Chat-Tyrants, Ground-Tyrants, Shrike Tyrants; Monjitas
4) Tyrannulets   5) Doradito, Elaenia, Tachuri  
6) Flycatchers, Spadebills, Twistwings  7) Flycatchers, Pewees, Phoebes
8) Flycatchers, Attilas, Flatbills, Sirystes  9) Flycatchers, Kingbirds, Kiskadees

Doradito, Elaenia, Tachuri


Genus Elaenia
Elaenia flycatchers have typically brownish, grayish or olive upperparts; off-white and/or pale yellow underparts; white or pale yellowish eye-ring; two or three wing bars. Some species show a crest; often with a semi-concealed white patch/streak.

Elaenia,_Brownish  Elaenia pelzelni  Found: Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
The Brownish Elaenia has mainly dull brown upperparts; brownish-white wing-bars; whitish underparts.;
Image by: 1 Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Anselmo_d'Affonseca in Brazil  2) Hector_Bottai - Brazil


Elaenia, Caribbean  Elaenia martinica  Found: Central America and Caribbean
The Caribbean Elaenia has olive-green upperparts; indistinct supercilium; grayish breast; yellowish-gray belly; 2 pale white wing-bars.
Image by: 1, 2, 3) New Jersy Birds


Elaenia,_Great  Elaenia dayi  Found: mainly Venezuela; also Guyana
The Great Elaenia has gray-brown upperparts; black crown; thin white eye-ring; two white wing-bars; pale olive-gray underparts.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Thiago_Laranjeiras, Jose_Almir_Jacomelli


Elaenia,_Greater_Antillean  Elaenia fallax  Found: Dominican, Haiti, Jamaica
Similar to: Jamaican Elaenia. Jamaican Elaenia has a slaty crown; Greater Antillean Elaenia has a green crown.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Dax_Roman  2) Dominic_Sherony  3) Ron_Knight


Elaenia,_Highland  Elaenia obscura  Found: Ecuador to Agentina; disjoint population Brazil, Paraguay
The Highland Elaenia has brownish-olve upperparts; yellowish underparts; negligible eye-ring.
It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
Image by: 1) Claudio Timm  2, 3) Nick Athanas - Brazil, Argentina


Elaenia,_Large  Elaenia spectabilis  Found: Brazil and surrounding countries
Image by: 1) Claudio_Timm  2) Carlos de Almeida


Elaenia,_Lesser  Elaenia chiriquensis  Found: Central and South Amercia
The Lesser Elaenia has dull green upperparts; small white crown patch; light olive breast; off-white belly; flanks and undertail coverts often tinged with pale yellow; bold eye-rings; 2 wing-bars.
Similar to: White-crested Elaenia. Lesser Elaenia has more extensive yellow on the underparts. White-crested Elaenia has more predominent white crest and tends to be darker than Lesser Elaenia.
Similar to: Yellow-bellied Elaenia. Lesser Elaenia is slightly smaller; Yellow-bellied Elaenia has larger crest.
Image by: 1) Dominic Sherony - Panama  2. 3) Charles_Sharp - Panama


Elaenia, Mottle-backed  Elaenia gigas  Found: South America
The Mottle-backed Elaenia has olive upperparts, breast; yellowish belly; split crest that helps make visible white crown. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Similar to: Yellow-bellied Elaenia. Mottle-backed Elaenia has olive breast; Yellow-bellied Elaenia has gray breast.
ImageImage by: by: 1, 2, 3) Dick Daniels - Ecuador


Elaenia, Mountain   Elaenia frantzii  Found: Cental and South America
The Mountain Elaenia has dull olive upperparts; dusky wings with 2 off-white wing-bars; faint eye-ring; yellowish-gray throat, breast; more yellowish belly.
Image by: 1, 3) Dave Curtis - Columbia  2) Dick Daniels - Boquette, Panama  4) Felix_Uribe - Columbia


Elaenia,_Noronha  Elaenia ridleyana  Found: island of Fernando de Noronha (Brazil)
Image by: 1) Marco_Cruz


Elaenia,_Olivaceous   Elaenia mesoleuca  Found: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay
The Olivaceous Elaenia has olivaceous upperparts; gray underparts; olive flanks; 2 off-white wing-bars; brown tail.
Image by:  1, 2) Cláudio Timm  3) Nick Athanas - Brazil


Elaenia,_Plain-crested  Elaenia cristata  Found:Brazil, Colombia, Guianas, Peru, Venezuela.
The Plain-crested Elaenia has olive-brown upperparts; 2 white wing-bars; pale buff underparts.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Venezuela  2, 3) Claudio_Timm


Elaenia,_Rufous-crowned  Elaenia ruficeps  Found: Brazil, Columbia, the Guianas, Venezuela
The Rufous-crowned Elaenia has olive upperparts; hard to see rufous hind-crown patch; white arc above eye; 
Image by: 1) Barloventomagico  2) Nick_Athanas - Suriname


Elaenia,_Sierran  Elaenia pallatangae  Found: Columbia to Bolivia; also Guyana, Venezuela
The Sierran Elaenia has olive upperparts; darker olive-gray wings; 2 whitish wing-bars; pale gray throat; pale yellow-olive underparts.
Image by: 1) Francesco_Veronesi  2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Carlos_Calle in Peru


Elaenia,_Slaty  Elaenia strepera  Found: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela
The male Slaty Elaenia has slty-gray upperparts; paler underparts. Female olive-gray upperparts; yellowish underparts.
Image by: 1) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Diego Oscar in Argentian  2) Nick Athanas - Argentina


Elaenia,_Small-billed  Elaenia parvirostris  Found: South America
The Small-billed Elaenia has relatively prominent white eye-rings; white crown stripe that is often hidden; paler underparts than most elaenias; 3 wing-bars.
Similar to: White-crested Elaenia. The Small-billed Elaenia has a shorter bill than the White-crested Elaenia and lacks a white crest. The White-crested Elaenia has darker underparts.
Image by: 1) Carlos_Henrique - Brazil  2) Nick Athanas - Argentina  3) Cláudio Timm - Brazil  4) Barloventomagico - Venezuela


Elaenia,_White-crested  Elaenia albiceps  Found: South America
The White-crested Elaenia has dull green upperparts; often prominent white crown patch; olive breast; off-white belly; flanks and undertail coverts often tinged with pale yellow; pale eye-rings; 2 wing-bars.
Similar to: Lesser Elaenia. Lesser Elaenia has more extensive yellow on the underparts. White-crested Elaenia has more predominent white crest and tends to be darker than Lesser Elaenia.
Similar to: Small-billed Elaenia. The Small-billed Elaenia has a shorter bill than the White-crested Elaenia and lacks a white crest. The White-crested Elaenia has darker underparts.
Image by: 1) Jorge Cardena - Chile  2) Charlie Westerinen - Tierra del Fuego   3, 4) Nick Athanas - Argentina, Ecuador


Elaenia,_Yellow-bellied  Elaenia flavogaster Found: Central and South America
Yellow-bellied Elaenia has gray breast; yellow tinged belly; 2 white wing-bars; white eye-rings; pale lores; large bushy crest.
Similar to: Lesser Elaenia. Lesser Elaenia is slightly smaller; Yellow-bellied Elaenia has larger crest.
Similar to: Mottle-backed Elaenia. Mottle-backed Elaenia has olive breast; Yellow-bellied Elaenia has gray breast.
Image by: 1, 2) Dario Sanches   3, 4) Nick Athanas - Mexico, Panama



Genus Myiopagis
Myiopagis are small tyrant flycathers with a relatively small bill and relatively long tail. Most species have wing bars and a concealed white or yellow patch in the center of crown.

Elaenia,_Foothill  Myiopagis olallai  Found: Ecuador, Peru
The Foothill Elaenia has mainly olive upperparts; pale yellow wing-bars; white throat; yellow underparts.
Image by: 1) Andres_Cuervo


Elaenia, Gray  Myiopagis caniceps  Found: South America
The male Gray Elaenia has gray upperparts; light gray breast; white belly; whitish eye-ring; white wing-bars. Female has olive back; yellow wing-bars.
Similar to: Suiriri Flycatcher. Suririri Flycatcher has olive wash on its gray back; male Gray Elaenia has no olive on its gray back.
Image by: 1) Jorge Montejo - Brazil  2) Charlie Westerinen - Argentina  3) Nick Athanas - Brazil


Elaenia,_Greenish  Myiopagis viridicata  Found: Mexico to southern Argentina and Brazil
There are approximately 10 subspecies of the Greenish Elaenia. All have short bill; gray throat; no wing-bars; pale yellow belly; yellow crown patch (usually hidden)
Image by: 1) Jorge_Montejo - Mexico  2) Alastair_Rae  3) Hector_Bottai - Brazil  4) Jerry_Oldenettel - Mexico  5) Ron_Knight



Elaenia, Jamaican  Myiopagis cotta  Found: Jamaica 
Similar to: Greater Antillean Elaenia. Jamaican Elaenia has a slaty crown; Greater Antillean Elaenia has a green crown.
Image by: 1) Dominic Sherony  2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Dave_Irving


Elaenia,_Pacific  Myiopagis subplacens  Found: western Ecuador, northwest Peru
The Pacific Elaenia has olive upperparts; whitish supercilium, throat; dull wings with yellowish secondary edges; gray breast; yellowish belly..
Image by: 1) David_Cook - Peru  2) Nick Athanas - Ecuador


Elaenia,_Yellow-crowned  Myiopagis flavivertex  Found: northern Amazonia and the Guianas
The Yellow-crowned Elaenia has olive upperparts, breast; yellow crown patch (often hidden); yellow belly.
Image by: 1, 2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Sam_Woods in Ecuador, Kurazo_Okada in Brazil



Genus Polystictus

Tachuri,_Bearded  Polystictus pectoralis  Found: South America
The Bearded Tachur has cinnamon-brown upperparts; buffy underparts; cinnamon flanks; 2 light wing-bars. Male has black head.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Guyana  2, 3) Cláudio Timm - Argentina
1, 2, 3) Female


Tachuri,_Gray-backed  Polystictus superciliaris  Found: eastern Brazil
The Gray-backed Tachuri has grayish-brown back; gray head; white lores; orange-buff underparts.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Brazil  2) Claudio_Timm - Brazil  3) Carlos_Henrique



Genus Pseudocolopteryx
These South American species are mainly found in marshy habitats.

Doradito,_Crested  Pseudocolopteryx sclateri  Found: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela
The Crested Doradito has olive upperparts; yellow underparts; short crest.
Image by: 1, 2) Claudio_Timm


Doradito,_Dinelli's  Pseudocolopteryx dinelliana  Found: Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay
Image by: 1) Hector_Bottai - Argentina  2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Graham Ekins  3) Claudio_Timm


Doradito,_Subtropical  Pseudocolopteryx acutipennis  Found: Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru
The Subtropical Doraito has bright olive upperparts; yellow underparts.
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas - Ecuador  2) Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Nino_Grangetto


Doradito,_Ticking  Pseudocolopteryx citreola  Found: Argentina, Chile
The Ticking Doradito is essentially physically similar to the Warblin Doradito.
Image by: 1. 2) Diego_Arellano  Cornell_Univ's_Neotropical_Birds_Online - Jose_Canas, Fabrice_Schmitt


Doradito,_Warbling  Pseudocolopteryx flaviventris  Found: Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay southern Brazil.
The Warbling Doradito has dull olive-brown upperparts; rufous crown patch; bright yellow underparts.
Image by: 1, 2) Dominic Sherony







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