Blue Mountain elaenia
The Blue Mountain elaenia is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is endemic to Jamaica.
Taxonomy and systematics
The American Ornithological Society, the International Ornithological Committee, and the Clements taxonomy formerly considered it to be conspecific with the Hispaniolan elaenia. In 2025 it was split by the IOC and Clements Checklist owing to DNA evidence, subtle physical differences between the two species and more substantial vocal differences. It is considered monotypic.Description
The Blue Mountain elaenia is long and weighs about. It is a medium-sized elaenia with a slight crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark olive-brown head with white or pale yellowish lores, a faint white or pale yellowish eyering, a faint darker line through the eye, and a thin white strip in the center of the crown that is usually not visible. Their upperparts are dark olive-brown. Their wings are dusky with paler edges on the flight feathers. The tips of their wing coverts are whitish or greenish white and show as two bars on the closed wing. Their tail is grayish or dusky. Their underparts are mostly dull yellow with faint streaks or a wash of dull olive or grayish. Both sexes have a dark brown iris and black legs and feet. It differs from the Hispaniolan elaenia in that it has a black maxilla and a pinkish mandible with a black tip while the Hispaniolan elaenia also has a black maxilla but its mandible is mostly black with a pinkish base.Distribution and habitat
It is endemic to the island of Jamaica. Most are found in the Port Royal Mountains, the Blue Mountains, and the higher parts of St. Andrew Parish.It is found in the interior and edges of humid lowland and montane forest and in open country with scattered trees. In elevation it ranges between.