Fen Puffball vs Long-tailed Sylph

Bovista paludosa compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Fen Puffball is Near Threatened while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Fen Puffball	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Lycoperdaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Bovista	Aglaiocercus
Species	Bovista paludosa	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

Fen Puffball

NT — Near Threatened

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Fen Puffball	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Fen Puffball

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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