Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Yellow-bellied Elaenia

Elaenia flavogaster

Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Coiba National Park

In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%

79 Verified sightings at Coiba National Park From 2019 to 2026
18,429 In all 66 parks
April 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 Coiba National Park?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-bellied Elaenia sighting in Coiba National Park on a given day, based on 79 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 18th most-seen of the 118 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Yellow-bellied Elaenia in Coiba National Park?

April

In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-bellied Elaenia in Coiba National Park on a given day, against about 30% in August–September and November–January, the lowest months. May and October have too few records to rate.

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 Coiba National Park the best place to see a Yellow-bellied Elaenia?

2nd of 66

Of the 66 parks where we can rate Yellow-bellied Elaenia sightings, Coiba National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (Trinidad and Tobago, about 60%). All parks ranked.

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 Coiba National Park (79 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.

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