Elaenia frantzii
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The mountain elaenia (Elaenia frantzii) is a small passerine bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela.
The three subspecies other than the nominate E. f. frantzii have bounced around as subspecies of other elaenia species before reaching their current status. However, vocal studies published in 2016 suggest that the species has only two subspecies, with ultima being absorbed into frantzii and browni being absorbed into pudica. There are further suggestions that the two putative subspecies should be treated as separate species.
At least one early twentieth century publication treated the mountain elaenia and highland elaenia (E. obscura) as conspecific but by the middle of the century that treatment had been abandoned, and early twenty-first century genetic studies showed that they are not closely related.
The mountain elaenia's specific epithet celebrates the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irazú Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Los Quetzales National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Volcán Barú National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 4 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | La Tigra National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 7 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Poás Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 11 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 12 | Chingaza National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 13 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 14 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 15 | Celaque National Park | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 16 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 17 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Elaenia sighting in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, based on 3,437 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 23rd most-seen of the 467 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Mountain Elaenia in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park on a given day, against about 10% in August to October, the lowest months. That is one of Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park's driest months, with about 160 mm of rain against 570 mm in October.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mountain 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.
4th of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Mountain Elaenia sightings, Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park ranks 4th at about 30%. The best odds are in Irazú Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%), Los Quetzales National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%) and Volcán Barú National Park (Panama, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mountain Elaenia is recorded against all the birds logged in Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park (3,437 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.
