dark speedwell vs Long-tailed Sylph

Veronica opaca compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• dark speedwell is Critically Endangered while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	dark 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 opaca	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

dark speedwell

CR — Critically Endangered

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

dark speedwell

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and temperate coniferous forests, among 5 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Oceanian and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found across Asia (Japan) and Europe (13 countries). Currently classified as Critically 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.

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