All species › Passerines › Shrike-babblers, Erpornis and vireos › Grey-eyed Greenlet
Grey-eyed Greenlet | Hylophilus amaurocephalus
Grijsoogvireo | Verdillo ojigrís | Vite-vite-de-olho-cinza
The Grey-eyed Greenlet is a small greenlet with a chestnut crown from eastern Brazil. There are reports from northern Bolivia, but these are unconfirmed. They probably refer to Hylophilus moxensis from the Beni, described in 2026, which closely resembles this species.
Voice
A high, somewhat harsh series of repeated notes, with much variation in structure. Calls with short, dry notes.
Recording: Mateus Gonçalves Santos — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · xeno-canto
Identification
12–13 cm, with a pointed, fairly thick bill. The forehead and crown are chestnut; a pale grey supercilium and a grey-and-white mottled eye area and ear-coverts. The upperparts are grey-brown, with a green tinge on the lower back, shoulders and rump; the wings and tail have green edges. The underparts are brownish grey, with a white chin and yellowish flanks. The eye is pale to mid grey. The sexes are alike.
Confusion species
Hylophilus moxensis of the Beni is almost identical, but always has a dark brown eye and plain pale grey ear-coverts without dark streaks. Rufous-crowned Greenlet Hylophilus poicilotis has a dark reddish-brown eye, grey-black mottled ear-coverts, an olive-green back and yellower underparts. Ashy-headed Greenlet Hylophilus pectoralis has a grey head without rufous and a yellow breast band.
Habitat
In Brazil caatinga, dry and semi-humid forest, forest edges, scrub and overgrown pastures, from sea level to about 1800 m. It searches foliage for insects in pairs or with mixed flocks. The Bolivian reports come from scrub and low trees near marshes in savanna.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of the Andes and the west coast.
Range and movements
Bolivia: only unconfirmed reports from the Beni and nearby areas, probably of Hylophilus moxensis. Absent from Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and the Galápagos. Outside the guide area in eastern Brazil, from Piauí and Ceará south to São Paulo.
- Winter visitor (c. Oct–Mar)
- Passage (Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov)
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Document any chestnut-crowned greenlet in the scrub of the Beni savanna carefully: note the eye colour and the ear-covert pattern and, if possible, make sound recordings. Only then can it be separated from Hylophilus moxensis.
Conservation status
Least Concern. In Brazil the species also occurs in heavily modified landscapes, such as overgrown pastures and regularly burnt woodland.
Scientific name
Hylophilus amaurocephalus | (Nordmann, 1835)
Nordmann described the species in 1835 as Sylvia amaurocephala; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Hylophilus was introduced in 1822 by Temminck. The genus name comes from Greek hulē, 'woodland, forest', and philos, 'loving': 'forest-lover'. The species name comes from Greek amauros, 'dark, dim', and kephalē, 'head': 'dull-headed'. The specimen the first description was based on came from border of Bahia and Minas Gerais, Brazil.