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
Xingu-Tocantins-Araguaia moist forests ecoregion rises into the Carajás Mountains, where it becomes interspersed with areas of seasonal forest and cerrado. Population centers include São Félix do Xingu on the Xingu, Porto de Moz, Oeiras do Pará and Gurupá on the Amazon, and Marabá on the Tocantins. The Marajó várzea at the mouth of the Amazon lies to the north. To the west, on the other side of the Xingu River, is the Tapajós-Xingu moist forests. To the northeast is the Tocantins/Pindare moist forests. To the southeast and south the ecoregion blends into the Mato Grosso seasonal forests ecoregion, and in some places directly