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
Upper American River Project fish passage by the project's dams, which segment parts of the upper South Fork American River, the Rubicon River and their tributaries. Water is diverted from the Rubicon River to a storage reservoir, Loon Lake, from which it is released through the Loon Lake Powerhouse to Gerle Creek. This water is intercepted and diverted into Silver Creek, a tributary of the South Fork American River, flowing through the Robbs Peak Powerhouse into Union Valley Reservoir, the project's principal reservoir. Water from Ice House Reservoir also enters Union Valley via the Jones Fork Powerhouse. From Union Valley, water flows through the