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
Tapajós-Xingu moist forests the ecoregion blends into the Mato Grosso seasonal forests ecoregion. Elevations range from above sea level along the Amazon to in the south. The ecoregion mostly lies on the undulating terrain of the ancient Brazilian Shield. Soils are often rich in nutrients, but poor soils are found in the higher areas. The main rivers are blackwater, with little or no suspended sediment. The largest is the Iriri, a tributary of the Xingu. Others are the Jamanxim, Curuá, Crepori, Curuá Una, and Jaraucu. The ecoregion is in the neotropic ecozone and the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests biome. The Köppen