Brownish elaenia the Xingu River in the south of Pará state, North Region, Brazil; it ranges upstream on the Xingu for 700 km, then a tributary to the west of the Xingu, the Rio Iriri, for another 700 km. The next upstream tributary for the bird's range, is the Madeira River in the Amazon Basin's southwest, Amazonas state. The range proceeds 2400 km upstream into the headwaters of the Madeira in northern Bolivia. To the west the brownish elaenia's range continues as the Amazon River becomes the Marañón River and proceeds to the headwaters in northern Peru; this is also along the
South Fork American River in 2011. The river begins at Nebelhorn near Johnson Pass about south of Lake Tahoe. From there it flows west for , past the towns of Kyburz, Pollock Pines and Coloma, before emptying into Folsom Lake, the reservoir formed by the Folsom Dam. The North Fork American River also flows into the lake, and the combined rivers form the American River proper, which flows from the dam southwest to a confluence with the Sacramento River. The South Fork drains an area of , or about a third of the American River watershed. Major tributaries include Silver Creek, Rock Creek, Weber