The Foothill Elaenia is recorded from the eastern Andean foothills of Ecuador and Peru. This account shows the confirmed localities in the 2000 original description and does not treat the intervening area as confirmed range.
A concealed white crown patch lies beneath the dark grey crown, the back is dark olive, and the wings have three distinct yellowish bars.
In observations in Ecuador, pairs joined mixed-species flocks in the canopy and middle levels, making short sallies to take prey from foliage, moss, twigs and branches.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.