Long-tailed Sylph vs Threeleaf Halberd Fern

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Tectaria trifoliata

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Threeleaf Halberd Fern is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Threeleaf Halberd Fern
Kingdom	Animalia (حيوانات)	Plantae (نباتات)
Phylum	Chordata (حبليات)	Tracheophyta
Class	Aves (طيور)	Polypodiopsida (سراخس رقيقة المباغ)
Order	Apodiformes (سماميات)	Polypodiales (سرخسيات)
Family	Trochilidae	Tectariaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Tectaria
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Tectaria trifoliata

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Threeleaf Halberd Fern

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Threeleaf Halberd Fern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Threeleaf Halberd Fern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Distributed across Brazil, Colombia, and Cuba. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Long-tailed Sylph

One of the most strikingly ornamented hummingbirds, male long-tailed sylphs have iridescent green plumage and dramatically elongated, ribbon-like outer tail feathers reaching up to 22 cm — over three times the body length. Found in Andean cloud forests of Colombia and Venezuela, they inhabit humid montane forest between 1,400–2,800 meters elevation. Males perform elaborate display flights to attract females. Their extravagant tails are a classic example of sexual selection via female preference.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia