Forest Elaenia
Encyclopedia
The Forest Elaenia, Myiopagis gaimardii, is a small passerine
bird
in the tyrant flycatcher
family. It breeds from Panama
through Colombia
, Venezuela
and the Guianas to Bolivia
and Brazil
. It also occurs on Trinidad
.
This species is found in forests and the edges of mangrove
swamps. The nest is a shallow cup of roots, bark and grass built in a tree. The typical clutch is two cream-coloured eggs marked with rufous and lavender.
The adult Forest Elaenia is 12.7cm long and weighs 12.2g. The head has a blackish crown with a partly concealed white or pale yellow central stripe, a weak whitish supercilium and white eyering. The upperparts are olive-green, and the brown wings have yellow feather edging and two yellow wing bars. The throat is whitish and the breast is greenish-yellow shading to yellow on the belly. The long narrow bill is black above and pink-based below. Sexes are similar.
M. g. trinitatis, the subspecies endemic to Trinidad, is larger and has duller upper parts than mainland forms.
Forest Elaenias are seen alone or in pairs, perched inconspicuosly or catching insect
s and spider
s in higher levels of the foliage. They also frequently eat berries
. They have a sharp pitch-weep call.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the tyrant flycatcher
Tyrant flycatcher
The tyrant flycatchers are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds on Earth, with more than 400 species. They are the most diverse avian family in every country in the Americas, except for the United States and...
family. It breeds from Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
through Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and the Guianas to Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It also occurs on Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
.
This species is found in forests and the edges of mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
swamps. The nest is a shallow cup of roots, bark and grass built in a tree. The typical clutch is two cream-coloured eggs marked with rufous and lavender.
The adult Forest Elaenia is 12.7cm long and weighs 12.2g. The head has a blackish crown with a partly concealed white or pale yellow central stripe, a weak whitish supercilium and white eyering. The upperparts are olive-green, and the brown wings have yellow feather edging and two yellow wing bars. The throat is whitish and the breast is greenish-yellow shading to yellow on the belly. The long narrow bill is black above and pink-based below. Sexes are similar.
M. g. trinitatis, the subspecies endemic to Trinidad, is larger and has duller upper parts than mainland forms.
Forest Elaenias are seen alone or in pairs, perched inconspicuosly or catching insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s in higher levels of the foliage. They also frequently eat berries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
. They have a sharp pitch-weep call.
External links
- Forest Elaenia videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Forest Elaenia photo gallery VIREO Photo-High Res