Photo: Hector Bottai / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Brownish Elaenia
Elaenia pelzelni
Brownish Elaenia (Elaenia pelzelni) — Songbirds & Perching Birds of South America.
Found across 8 guides in our atlas — open any for the full checklist, photos and what's around right now.
The Brownish Elaenia (Elaenia pelzelni) is a member of the Tyrannidae family found in South America. Adults weigh 27.3 g. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List (opens in a new tab)Widespread and abundant — not currently at risk.
Where it fits
- Class Aves
- Order Passeriformes
- Family Tyrannidae Tyrant Flycatchers, Calyptura
- Genus Elaenia
- Species pelzelni
Quick facts
- Weight
- 27.3 g
- Diet
- Invertebrate-eaters
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Habitat
- Woodland
How to identify
Similar birds
Least Concern
Vulnerable
Near Threatened
Least Concern
Biology & behaviour
Diet
The Brownish Elaenia is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.
Behaviour
A bird of dense forest, it spends much of its time perched in trees and shrubs.
Migration
The Brownish Elaenia is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
The Brownish Elaenia (Elaenia pelzelni) belongs to the Tyrannidae family of the order Passeriformes. It is found across South America. Its distribution covers SA Amazon River and tributaries.
It is a small bird. Adults weighs around 27.3 g, with a wing length of about 8.8 cm and a tail of around 7.5 cm.
The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern. That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.
The species has a mapped global range of roughly 312,000 km².
Songs & calls
Frequently asked questions
How big is the Brownish Elaenia?
The Brownish Elaenia is a small bird that weighs around 27.3 g.
Where does the Brownish Elaenia live?
The Brownish Elaenia is found across South America with a range covering SA Amazon River and tributaries, where it favours woodland, forest and well-treed country.
What family does the Brownish Elaenia belong to?
The Brownish Elaenia (Elaenia pelzelni) belongs to the Tyrannidae family, in the order Passeriformes.
What does the Brownish Elaenia eat?
The Brownish Elaenia is a invertivore — it feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects and other small prey.
Does the Brownish Elaenia migrate?
The Brownish Elaenia is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
Is the Brownish Elaenia endangered?
The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.
What sound does the Brownish Elaenia make?
1 real field recording of the Brownish Elaenia — including its call — can be played in the Songs & calls section on this page, credited to the recordist who captured it.
How large is the Brownish Elaenia's range?
The Brownish Elaenia has a mapped global range of about 312,000 km².
Conservation
Every bird benefits from bird-safe windows, native plants, and keeping cats indoors. Small changes at home add up to real protection.
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Guides for this bird
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How to choose a bird feeder for garden songbirds — the feeder styles compared, the seed they prefer, where to hang it, and how to keep birds safe. A decision framework grounded in real data, with no mystery picks.
Meet the Tyrannidae
A field guide to the Tyrannidae family — 444 species in the Birbs encyclopedia, with the best-known members to start with.