Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Elaenia flavogaster

Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Fortaleza

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

79 Verified sightings at Fortaleza
18,429 In all 66 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Yellow-bellied Elaenia

The yellow-bellied elaenia (Elaenia flavogaster) is a small bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Mexico, in every Central American country, in every mainland South American country except Chile, on Trinidad and Tobago, and on several islands in the Lesser Antilles.

The yellow-bellied elaenia was formally described in 1822 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg under the binomial name Pipra flavogaster. The type locality is Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The yellow-bellied elaenia is now one of 22 species placed in the genus Elaenia that was introduced in 1836 by Carl Jakob Sundevall. The specific epithet flavogaster combines the Latin flavus meaning "yellow" or "golden-yellow" with gaster meaning "belly".

Four subspecies are recognised: In the mid twentieth century at least one author treated the yellow-bellied elaenia and the large elaenia (E. spectabilis) as conspecific. The yellow-bellied elaenia is 15 to 17 cm (5.9 to 6.7 in) long and weighs... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Duet0:04

Brazil · 2026

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1163707 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:14

Argentina · 2020

© Marcos E. Sosa · XC1018769 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:07

Costa Rica · 2024

© Paul Driver · XC955505 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Main Ridge Forest Reserve 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
~60%
2 Coiba National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~40%
3 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~40%
4 Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~30%
5 Emas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
6 Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~30%
7 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
8 Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary 🇧🇿 Belize
~30%
9 Chapada dos Guimarães National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
10 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
11 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
12 Lago de Yojoa 🇭🇳 Honduras
~20%
13 Tayrona National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~20%
14 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
15 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
16 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~20%
17 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
18 Machalilla National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~20%
19 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~20%
20 Cusuco National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
~20%
21 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
~20%
22 Caroni Swamp 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
~10%
23 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
24 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
25 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
26 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
27 Henri Pittier National Park 🇻🇪 Venezuela
~10%
28 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~10%
29 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
30 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
31 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
32 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
33 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
34 Tortuguero National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
35 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
36 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
37 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
38 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
39 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
40 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
41 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
42 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
43 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
44 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
45 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
46 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
47 Anavilhanas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
48 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
49 Serra dos Órgãos National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
50 Cahuita National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
51 Celaque National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
52 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
53 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%
54 Cañón del Sumidero National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
55 Pico Bonito National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
56 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
57 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
58 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
59 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
60 Irazú Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
61 Las Baulas Marine National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
62 Tikal National Park 🇬🇹 Guatemala
<5%
63 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
64 Palo Verde National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
65 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
66 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Natal 🇧🇷 Brazil
~60%
2 Recife 🇧🇷 Brazil
~50%
3 João Pessoa 🇧🇷 Brazil
~50%
4 Belém 🇧🇷 Brazil
~40%
5 Caracas 🇻🇪 Venezuela
~40%
6 Cali 🇨🇴 Colombia
~40%
7 Rio de Janeiro 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
8 Salvador 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%
9 Medellín 🇨🇴 Colombia
~30%
10 Niterói 🇧🇷 Brazil
~30%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Yellow-bellied Elaenia in Fortaleza?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-bellied Elaenia sighting in Fortaleza on a given day, based on 79 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 51st most-seen of the 129 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Yellow-bellied Elaenia in Fortaleza?

March, July–August and December

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-bellied Elaenia in Fortaleza on a given day, against about 10% in January–February, April–June and September, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Yellow-bellied Elaenia?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-bellied 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.

Is Fortaleza the best place to see a Yellow-bellied Elaenia?

17th of 34

Of the 34 cities where we can rate Yellow-bellied Elaenia sightings, Fortaleza ranks 17th at about 20%. The best odds are in Natal (Brazil, about 60%), Recife (Brazil, about 50%) and João Pessoa (Brazil, about 50%).

Which relatives of the Yellow-bellied Elaenia live in Fortaleza?

Same family: Tyrannidae

The closest relatives of the Yellow-bellied Elaenia that you can see in Fortaleza (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Great Kiskadee (about 90%), Tropical Kingbird (about 60%) and Social Flycatcher (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Yellow-bellied Elaenia sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Yellow-bellied Elaenia is recorded against all the birds logged in Fortaleza (79 verified sightings), 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.

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