FIRST NORTH AMERICAN RECORD OF WHITE-CRESTED ELAENIA AT SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TEXAS 
Figures 2, 3. The White-crested Elaenia often appeared alert or agitated, particularly when feeding or when interacting with several Eastern Phoebes; at such times, it tended to erect the head feathers 
more fully, exposing the whitish centra! feathers prominently. Photographs by Daniel Jones (above left) and Erik Breden. 
Figures 4, 5. When the White-crested Elaenia was less active, it tended to relax the crown feathers more, but both the crest itself and the white of the central crown (coronal patch) were visible at al! 
times. Photographs by Steve Bentsen (above left) and Erik Breden. 
and a very light pale yellow wash to the lower 
flanks and undertail coverts. The belly and 
throat were a pale grayish white. The dark eye 
was prominent, being surrounded by a nar- 
row but complete pale eye-ring, plus a dif- 
fusely pale supraloral area. The ear coverts 
and most of the head were medium olive. The 
crown was slightly darker, with an always vis- 
ible long, wide coronal patch of pure white. 
reaching from a few millimeters behind the 
base of the maxilla through to the rear of the 
crest. These white crown feathers were 
slightly shorter than the olive crest feathers 
on either side, which effectively split the crest 
longitudinally in two. The width of the coro- 
nal stripe was more than a third of the crown 
width when the crest was raised but narrower 
when it was relaxed. 
Vocalization 
The call was described by observers as a soft, 
fairly low-pitched “wheoo,” “pio,” or “feeoo” 
that had a slight downward inflection. The 
spectrogram prepared by Chris Benesh (Fig- 
ure 9) compares the calls of an Elaenia albi- 
ceps chilensis recorded by Sjoerd Mayer in 
Bolivia to Reids recording of the bird in ques- 
tion. It seemingly is a perfect match in struc- 
VOLUME 63 (2009) • NUMBER 1 
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