Mountain Elaenia
Encyclopedia
The Mountain Elaenia, Elaenia frantzii, is a small passerine
bird
in the tyrant flycatcher
family. It breeds in highlands from Guatemala
to Colombia
and western Venezuela
. The scientific name celebrates the German
physician
and naturalist
, Alexander von Frantzius
.
This tyrant flycatcher
is 14-15 cm long and weighs 17-20 g. The upperparts are dull olive, with a narrow white eye ring. The wings are dusky with narrow yellow feather edges and two off-white wing bars. The throat and breast are yellowish grey, becoming dull yellow on the belly. Sexes are similar, but young birds are browner above, paler below, and have brighter wing bars.
This is an inconspicuous species, with a slurred peeeeur call, longer than that of Mistletoe Tyrannulet
, and a repetitive d’weet d’weet song.
The Mountain Elaenia breeds between 1200m and 2900m altitude in wet mountain forests, especially at the edges and in clearings, and in adjacent second growth, semi-open areas, or pastures with trees.It moves lower in winter, down to 600 m, and also appears to undergo seasonal movements
.
It is solitary when not breeding. It perches on a shaded watchpoint from which it sallies forth to pick insect
s, spider
s, and many berries and seeds from foliage or even the ground. All its food is taken in flight.
Its nest is a cup of mosses, liverwort
s and lichen
s, lined with plant fibres. It is built by the female 2-15 m high in a tree or bamboo
. The two cinnamon-blotched whitish eggs are incubated by the female for 15-16 days to hatching.
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 in highlands from Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
to 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...
and western 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...
. The scientific name celebrates the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, Alexander von Frantzius
Alexander von Frantzius
Alexander von Frantzius was a German physician and naturalist.Frantzius collected natural history specimens in Brazil from 1849–1853 and Costa Rica in 1853, many of which he sent to Jean Cabanis at the Berlin Museum. He set up a pharmacy in San José in Costa Rica, employing José Castulo Zeledón as...
.
This 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...
is 14-15 cm long and weighs 17-20 g. The upperparts are dull olive, with a narrow white eye ring. The wings are dusky with narrow yellow feather edges and two off-white wing bars. The throat and breast are yellowish grey, becoming dull yellow on the belly. Sexes are similar, but young birds are browner above, paler below, and have brighter wing bars.
This is an inconspicuous species, with a slurred peeeeur call, longer than that of Mistletoe Tyrannulet
Mistletoe Tyrannulet
The Paltry Tyrannulet , also known as the Mistletoe Tyrannulet, is a very small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds from southern Mexico to Panama. The Venezuelan Tyrannulet The Paltry Tyrannulet (Zimmerius vilissimus), also known as the Mistletoe Tyrannulet, is a very small...
, and a repetitive d’weet d’weet song.
The Mountain Elaenia breeds between 1200m and 2900m altitude in wet mountain forests, especially at the edges and in clearings, and in adjacent second growth, semi-open areas, or pastures with trees.It moves lower in winter, down to 600 m, and also appears to undergo seasonal movements
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
.
It is solitary when not breeding. It perches on a shaded watchpoint from which it sallies forth to pick 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, 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, and many berries and seeds from foliage or even the ground. All its food is taken in flight.
Its nest is a cup of mosses, liverwort
Marchantiophyta
The Marchantiophyta are a division of bryophyte plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like other bryophytes, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of genetic information....
s and lichen
Lichen
Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic organism composed of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner , usually either a green alga or cyanobacterium...
s, lined with plant fibres. It is built by the female 2-15 m high in a tree or bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
. The two cinnamon-blotched whitish eggs are incubated by the female for 15-16 days to hatching.