Ferny Azolla vs Long-tailed Sylph

Azolla pinnata compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Ferny Azolla	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Salviniales (Salviniales)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Salviniaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Azolla	Aglaiocercus
Species	Azolla pinnata	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

Ferny Azolla

LC — Least Concern

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Ferny Azolla	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Ferny Azolla

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including deserts and xeric shrublands, tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, and flooded grasslands and savannas spanning the Palearctic and Oceanian realms.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (4 countries), Asia (Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan), North America (Mexico, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Tuvalu).

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.