Black-winged Saltator vs Long-tailed Sylph

Saltator atripennis compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black-winged Saltator	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	Thraupidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Saltator	Aglaiocercus
Species	Saltator atripennis	Aglaiocercus kingii

Evolutionary Relationship

Black-winged Saltator and Long-tailed Sylph share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Black-winged Saltator

LC — Least Concern

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black-winged Saltator

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Norway.

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Black-winged Saltator

A large, robust seed-eating bird of humid forest edges and secondary woodland in the Pacific lowlands of Ecuador and Colombia, black-winged saltators have slate-grey body plumage with distinctive black wings contrasting boldly with white wing markings. They inhabit dense undergrowth, forest borders, and secondary growth, foraging on large seeds, fruit, and buds. Like other saltators, they have powerful bills for cracking hard seeds. Listed as Least Concern with stable populations in remaining Pacific coastal forest.

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