Cardinal Meadowhawk vs Long-tailed Sylph

Sympetrum illotum compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cardinal Meadowhawk	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Odonata (Odonata)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Libellulidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Sympetrum	Aglaiocercus
Species	Sympetrum illotum	Aglaiocercus kingii

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Cardinal Meadowhawk

LC — Least Concern

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cardinal Meadowhawk	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cardinal Meadowhawk

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found in Colombia.

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Cardinal Meadowhawk

The Cardinal Meadowhawk (Sympetrum illotum) is a species in the genus Sympetrum. It is currently classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

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:

🇨🇴 Colombia