Small-headed Elaenia

Small-headed Elaenia

Elaenia sordida

Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at São Paulo

In 3 days <5%

6 Verified sightings at São Paulo
378 In all 5 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Small-headed Elaenia

The small-headed elaenia (Elaenia sordida), also known as the Brazilian elaenia, is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

The small-headed elaenia is monotypic. It was previously treated as a subspecies of the highland elaenia (E. obscura); between 2016 and 2020 taxonomic systems split the two. The small-headed elaenia is 16 to 20 cm (6.3 to 7.9 in) long and weighs 24 to 34.5 g (0.85 to 1.2 oz). It is a large elaenia without a crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a dark olive head with lighter cheeks, a dusky loral spot, and a thin whitish eyering. Their upperparts are dark olive. Their wings are mostly dusky with pale edges on the flight feathers. The tips of their wing coverts are whitish to yellowish and show as two bars on the closed wing. Their tail is dusky with white tips on unworn feathers. Their chin and throat are grayish yellow, their breast and flanks dull gray-olive, and their belly and undertail coverts grayish yellow. Both sexes have a brown iris, a stubby blackish brown to black bill with a pinkish... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call1:08

Brazil · 2026

© Robson Silva e Silva · XC1151451 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Uncertain0:19

Argentina · 2022

© Marcos E. Sosa · XC898970 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:34

Brazil · 2023

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC832941 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
2 Serra da Canastra National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
3 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
4 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%
5 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Porto Alegre 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
2 Curitiba 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
3 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Small-headed Elaenia in São Paulo?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Small-headed Elaenia sighting in São Paulo on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 333rd most-seen of the 353 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Small-headed Elaenia in São Paulo?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Small-headed Elaenia in São Paulo on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Small-headed Elaenia?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Small-headed 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 São Paulo the best place to see a Small-headed Elaenia?

Among the best

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Small-headed Elaenia sightings, São Paulo ranks 3rd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Porto Alegre (Brazil, under 5%) and Curitiba (Brazil, under 5%).

Where does the Small-headed Elaenia sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Small-headed Elaenia is recorded against all the birds logged in São Paulo (6 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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