Corn speedwell vs Long-tailed Sylph

Veronica arvensis compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Corn speedwell	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Lamiales (Lamiales)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Plantaginaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Veronica	Aglaiocercus
Species	Veronica arvensis	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

Corn speedwell

LC — Least Concern

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Corn speedwell	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Corn speedwell

Habitat

Inhabits temperate broadleaf and mixed forests within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (4 countries), Europe (15 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (5 countries).

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

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