Lesser Elaenia
Elaenia chiriquensis
Confusing flycatcher, fairly small and nondescript. Like many other elaenias and flycatchers, brownish-olive above, pale gray on the throat, and pale yellow on the belly, with whitish wingbars. Only shows a slight crest and very little facial pattern. Usually seen in more open habitats like forest edge or second growth, singly or in pairs, sometimes following a mixed-species flock. Best identified by voice, which varies across range. Call is typically a single high-pitched “pseew”, sometimes buzzy and sometimes clear. Also gives a harsh stuttered song, varying from a short “chi-bur” to a longer series of notes.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Elaenia chiriquensis
- Authority
- Lawrence, 1865
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Elaenia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Tiny bird, more slender than other waxbills, olive brown above, blackish with white-spotted flanks below. Male with bright red face, female with red around eye. Cherry red rump obvious in flight. Found in arid inland Australia, in rocky gorges and hills with water nearby.
Masked Finch
Poephila personata
A small brownish bird with a bright yellow bill, black face, black flanks, and a distinctive black tail and white rump. Juveniles similar but duller, with dark bill. Long tail but lacks the long streamers of similar Long-tailed Finch, with which Masked is sometimes found. Inhabits grasslands and grassy woodlands across northern Australia.
Louisiade Spectacled Monarch
Symposiachrus melanopterus
A small songbird with a modestly long tail and pale bill. Slate-gray above, pale below, with black mask and throat, rich rufous-orange throat and upper breast, and white tail corners. Endemic to the Louisiade Archipelago, southeast of New Guinea. Inhabits and forest edge, where itorages actively, sometimes hovering. Vocalizations are poorly known, but presumably similar to closely-related species, including whistles as well as harsh and unpleasant-sounding calls. Formerly treated as a subspecies of Spectacled Monarch.
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