Elaenia chiriquensis
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The lesser elaenia (Elaenia chiriquensis) is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, on Trinidad, in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay, and as a vagrant on Bonaire and Curaçao.
What is now Coopmans's elaenia (E. brachyptera) was previously a third subspecies of it. Based on a study published in 2015, taxonomic systems recognized it as a species starting in 2016. 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. Their... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Coiba National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 5 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Chapada dos Guimarães National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Chagres National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 11 | Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 12 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 13 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 14 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 15 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 16 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | João Pessoa | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Salvador | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 5 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 7 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Elaenia sighting in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 175th most-seen of the 273 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and September–November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Elaenia in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–August and December, the lowest months. February to April have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser Elaenia sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 16
Of the 16 parks where we can rate Lesser Elaenia sightings, Chapada dos Guimarães National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Emas National Park (Brazil, about 20%), Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, about 10%) and Coiba National Park (Panama, about 10%).
Same genus: Elaenia
The closest relatives of the Lesser Elaenia that you can see in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park (genus Elaenia, Typical Elaenias) are Yellow-bellied Elaenia (about 30%), Plain-crested Elaenia (about 20%) and Small-billed Elaenia (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lesser Elaenia is recorded against all the birds logged in Chapada dos Guimarães National Park (27 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.
