Caribbean elaenia

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Caribbean elaenia (Elaenia martinica) is a medium-sized bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It measures about 14–18 cm in length and weighs 18–29 g. Both sexes look alike and it has a small, bushy crest.

Where it lives: The Caribbean elaenia occurs in the West Indies, parts of Central America, and some offshore islands near northern South America. It stays in most areas year-round, though some island populations move a little between islands.

Habitat: It lives in a variety of lowland habitats, including humid forests, woodland edges, scrub, parks and gardens, open areas with trees, and mangroves. It also occurs in the mountains of the southern Lesser Antilles, from sea level up to about 700 m.

Subspecies: Seven subspecies are recognized, with some taxonomic authorities grouping certain populations together or treating them as separate species.

Description: The bird has a dull olive to brownish crown with a pale stripe in the crest. Upperparts are olive-brown, wings have yellowish edges, and the tail is dusky. Throat is sooty gray, breast light gray, and belly pale or yellowish. It has a dark brown iris, a black bill with a dusky pink base, and black legs.

Behavior and diet: It eats insects and fruit, foraging mainly from the lower to middle levels, usually alone or in pairs. It perches to seize prey or plucks fruit, sometimes hovering briefly.

Breeding: Nests are shallow cup-shaped made of twigs, placed in trees or shrubs up to 9 m high. Clutch size is 2–3 eggs, creamy white to buff with darker markings. Incubation and fledging details are not well known. The species breeds roughly from January to September.

Vocalizations: The song sounds like a drawn-out pee-wee-reereeree, and the call is a repeated jui-up, wit-churr.

Conservation: The Caribbean elaenia is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. It has a large range and a population of at least 500,000 mature birds, though numbers are likely decreasing. It is generally common across most of its range, but rare on some outlying islands.