Elaenia cristata
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The plain-crested elaenia (Elaenia cristata) is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The plain-crested elaenia and the rufous-crowned elaenia (E. ruficeps) are sister species. The plain-crested elaenia is 12.5 to 15 cm (4.9 to 5.9 in) long and weighs about 18 g (0.63 oz). It is a small elaenia with a conspicuous crest. The two subspecies and the sexes have essentially the same plumage. Adults have a dull olive-brown head with lighter brown cheeks and a thin whitish eyering. Their upperparts are dull olive-brown. Their wings are mostly dusky; the flight feathers have whitish edges and the tips of the coverts are whitish. The latter show as two bars on the closed wing. Their tail is dusky. Their throat is grayish white, their breast grayish olive, and their belly and undertail coverts pale yellow. Both sexes of both subspecies have a dark brown iris, a black... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Emas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Chapada dos Guimarães National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Amboró National Park | 🇧🇴 Bolivia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belo Horizonte | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Plain-crested Elaenia sighting in Chapada Diamantina National Park on a given day, based on 430 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 271 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Plain-crested Elaenia in Chapada Diamantina National Park on a given day, against about 40% in January–February, May–June and August, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Plain-crested Elaenia sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Plain-crested Elaenia sightings, Chapada Diamantina National Park has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, about 30%) and Emas National Park (Brazil, about 20%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Elaenia
The closest relatives of the Plain-crested Elaenia that you can see in Chapada Diamantina National Park (genus Elaenia, Typical Elaenias) are Yellow-bellied Elaenia (about 20%) and Small-headed Elaenia (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Plain-crested Elaenia is recorded against all the birds logged in Chapada Diamantina National Park (430 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
