Stalking birds during their lunch hour.

That’s how I lead this post when it was published on my now defunct and hacked blog more than a decade ago. That conjures a fairly accurate memory of taking these few photos a these White-Crested Elaenia (Elaenia albiceps), so I’ll just stick with that here. They are snacking on a Calafate Berry (Berberis microphylla), or Magellan Barberry, in appearance quite like a blueberry but much more tart in taste. I never had the berry but did enjoy a Calafate Sour in Punta Arenas, a refreshing cocktail popular throughout Chile, but particularly in the Southern Patagonian reaches.

I initially thought these were Patagonian Mockingbirds, but later decided on White-Crested Elaenia, given the white crest on the bird at right above. The others appear sans white crest, but it could be hidden.

There are several sub-species found from the southern tips of Chile and Argentina as far north as Peru and Ecuador. If anyone can help me nail down which species this is, I’d be forever grateful.

More:

• White-Crested Elaenia at Birds of the World
• White-Crested Elaenia at BirdLife DataZone
• White-Crested Elaenia at eBird
• White-Crested Elaenia at Avibase
• White-Crested Elaenia at Wikipedia
• White-Crested Elaenia at iNaturalist

Photos taken on the Laguna Torre Trail at Los Glaciares National Park, near El Chalten, Argentina, on 13 February 2013. A version of this post first appeared on a previous blog that is no longer being updated and moved here on 22 March 2025, and last updated on 24 August 2025.