Elaenia martinica
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The Caribbean elaenia (Elaenia martinica) is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in the West Indies, in parts of Central America, and on islands just off the northern South American coast.
In 1760, the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Caribbean elaenia in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected on the island of Martinique. He used the French name Le gobe-mouche hupé de la Martinique and the Latin Muscicapa Martinicana cristata. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson including the Caribbean elaenia. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Muscicapa martinica and cited Brisson's work. This species is now placed in the genus Elaenia that was introduced by the Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1836.
The Caribbean elaenia has these... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 2 | Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Caribbean Elaenia sighting in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 259th most-seen of the 288 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Caribbean Elaenia in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Caribbean Elaenia sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Caribbean Elaenia sightings, Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park (Mexico, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Caribbean Elaenia is recorded against all the birds logged in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (12 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.
