Plain-crested Elaenia (Elaenia cristata) [XC338475]
by Peter Boesman from Pousada Thaima\u00e7u. Rio S\u00e3o Benedito, Brazil (song)
Plain-crested Elaenia (Elaenia cristata) [XC81533]
by Jeremy Minns from Parque Nacional da Serra do Cip\u00f3, Minas Gerais State, Brazil (dawn song)
Subspecies
Has been hypothesized as being closest to Rufous-crowned Elaenia (Elaenia ruficeps) on basis of nostril structure and wing formula, but the two differ greatly in plumage and behaviour.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
cristata Pelzeln, 1868 - Venezuela east of Andes, the Guianas, north, central and eastern Brazil (south to Sío Paulo; absent from western and central Amazon Basin) and extreme eastern Bolivia; isolated populations in south-eastern Colombia (Caquetá, Vaupés), south-eastern Peru (locally in Cuzco and Madre de Dios) and extreme western Bolivia (La Paz).
alticola Zimmer, JT & Phelps, 1946 - Tepuis in south-eastern Venezuela (south-eastern Bolívar) and adjacent northern Brazil.