Black Colonel vs Long-tailed Sylph

Odontomyia tigrina compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Colonel	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Stratiomyidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Odontomyia	Aglaiocercus
Species	Odontomyia tigrina	Aglaiocercus kingii

Evolutionary Relationship

Black Colonel and Long-tailed Sylph share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Black Colonel

LC — Least Concern

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black Colonel	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Colonel

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Black Colonel

The Black Colonel (Odontomyia tigrina) is a species in the genus Odontomyia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats. Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

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:

🇳🇴 Norway