Arctic Burreed vs Long-tailed Sylph

Sparganium natans compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

Arctic Burreed is Near Threatened while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic Burreed	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Poales (Grasses)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Typhaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Sparganium	Aglaiocercus
Species	Sparganium natans	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

Arctic Burreed

NT — Near Threatened

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic Burreed	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic Burreed

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Found across Europe (7 countries) and North America (Canada, United States). 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.

Arctic Burreed

The Arctic Burreed (Sparganium natans) is a species in the genus Sparganium. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

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.