Ash-breasted Antbird vs Long-tailed Sylph

Myrmoborus lugubris compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Ash-breasted Antbird is Vulnerable while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Ash-breasted Antbird	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Passeriformes (Songbirds)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Thamnophilidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Myrmoborus	Aglaiocercus
Species	Myrmoborus lugubris	Aglaiocercus kingii

Evolutionary Relationship

Ash-breasted Antbird and Long-tailed Sylph share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Ash-breasted Antbird

VU — Vulnerable

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Ash-breasted Antbird	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Ash-breasted Antbird

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Norway. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Ash-breasted Antbird

Ash-breasted antbird (Myrmoborus lugubris) is a species in the genus Myrmoborus. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

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 3 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway