Ake-ake vs Long-tailed Sylph

Olearia traversii compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Ake-ake is Near Threatened while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Ake-ake	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Trochilidae
Genus	Olearia	Aglaiocercus
Species	Olearia traversii	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

Ake-ake

NT — Near Threatened

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Ake-ake	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Ake-ake

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, France, Ireland, Netherlands, and United Kingdom. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Ake-ake

The Ake-ake (Olearia traversii) is a species in the genus Olearia. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

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.