Olivaceous Elaenia

Olivaceous Elaenia

Elaenia mesoleuca

Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Iguaçu National Park

In 3 days <5%

6 Verified sightings at Iguaçu National Park From 2019 to 2026
143 In all 3 parks
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Olivaceous Elaenia

The olivaceous elaenia (Elaenia mesoleuca) is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Though one mid-late twentieth century publication credited Lichtenstein with the species description, since the 1990s taxonomic systems attribute it to Deppe.

The olivaceous elaenia is monotypic. The olivaceous elaenia is 14 to 16 cm (5.5 to 6.3 in) long and weighs 16 to 20 g (0.56 to 0.71 oz). It is a small elaenia without a crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a dull olive crown with minimal or no white in the middle. They have a white eyering. Their upperparts are dull olive. Their wings are dusky with yellowish or white tips on the coverts that show as two wing bars. Their flight feathers have narrow whitish edges. Their tail is dusky. Their throat is dull gray, their breast olive in a vest-like pattern, their belly white, and their flanks and undertail coverts whitish with a yellow wash. Both sexes have a brown iris, a black bill with a dusky pinkish base to the mandible, and black legs and feet. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call1:10

Brazil · 2025

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1053009 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song1:08

Brazil · 2011

© Rodrigo Dela Rosa · XC539212 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Chamado1:07

Brazil · 2017

© Caio Brito · XC427339 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
2 Iguaçu National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
3 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Curitiba 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
2 Buenos Aires 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%
3 Porto Alegre 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
4 Belo Horizonte 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
5 São Paulo 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Olivaceous Elaenia in Iguaçu National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Olivaceous Elaenia sighting in Iguaçu National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 331st most-seen of the 346 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 an Olivaceous Elaenia in Iguaçu National Park?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Olivaceous Elaenia in Iguaçu National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see an Olivaceous Elaenia?

Between 8 and 11 am

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

Is Iguaçu National Park the best place to see an Olivaceous Elaenia?

2nd of 3

Of the 3 parks where we can rate Olivaceous Elaenia sightings, Iguaçu National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Itatiaia National Park (Brazil, about 10%).

Where does the Olivaceous Elaenia sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Olivaceous Elaenia is recorded against all the birds logged in Iguaçu National Park (6 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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