Common Goldenring vs Long-tailed Sylph

Cordulegaster boltonii compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Common Goldenring is Endangered while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Goldenring	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	Cordulegastridae	Trochilidae
Genus	Cordulegaster	Aglaiocercus
Species	Cordulegaster boltonii	Aglaiocercus kingii

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Common Goldenring

EN — Endangered

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Goldenring	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Goldenring

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries). Currently classified as Endangered 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.

Common Goldenring

Common Goldenring (Cordulegaster boltonii) is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. At high risk of extinction in the wild, with significant population decline and ongoing threats to survival.

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