Appearance
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.
Naming
Four subspecies are recognized:⤷ "E. f. ultima" – Griscom, 1935: found in Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras
⤷ "E. f. frantzii" – Lawrence, 1865: found in Nicaragua, Costa Rica and western Panama
⤷ "E. f. browni" – Bangs, 1898: found in northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela
⤷ "E. f. pudica" – Sclater, PL, 1871: found in northern and eastern Colombia, northern and western Venezuela
Behavior
This is an inconspicuous species, with a slurred "peeeeur" call, longer than that of mistletoe tyrannulet, and a repetitive "d’weet d’weet" song. It is solitary when not breeding.Reproduction
The mountain elaenia breeds between 1,200 and 2,900 m in 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.Its nest is a cup of mosses, liverworts and lichens, 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.
Food
It perches on a shaded watchpoint from which it sallies forth to pick insects, spiders, and many berries and seeds from foliage or even the ground. All its food is taken in flight.References:
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