here we have the tepui elaenia, a tyrannid of northern South America! its range is very small, with two noncontiguous populations - one lives in the tepui region of Venezuela, though its range does peek into Brazil and Guyana, and the other is restricted to the Cerro de la Neblina, a vast mountainous plateau in the furthest southern point of Venezuela. "tepui" is a word which comes from the Indigenous Pemon language, translating roughly to "house of the gods". the word refers to the mesas in the region, of which there are a lot. they dominate much of southern Venezuela! needless to say, today's bird is rather partial to high altitudes. it lives in moist montane forest and scrub, and forages on all levels, from the canopy to the understory. eBird has a grand total of forty photos of it.
an opportunistic omnivore, able to exploit a wide range of food sources. picks seeds, berries, and insects off branches while clambering about, and often likes the company of mixed-species foraging flocks. its sexes are indistinguishable. its subspecies from the Cerro de la Neblina, "davidwillardi," is visually distinguished by the notably higher amount of contrast between its upper and lower plumage - both are more saturated. gee i wonder where the subspecies name comes from. both subspecies bear a relatively small crest, which has a streak of white in its interior; the crest is capable of lying entirely flat, making it indistinguishable from non-crested birds. the wideness of elaenias' crests always strikes me as rather amusing. like their whole head gets taller out of nowhere.
14 July 2026
