Greenish Puffleg vs Long-tailed Sylph

Haplophaedia aureliae compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Greenish Puffleg	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order same	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family same	Trochilidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Haplophaedia	Aglaiocercus
Species	Haplophaedia aureliae	Aglaiocercus kingii

Evolutionary Relationship

Greenish Puffleg and Long-tailed Sylph share a common ancestor at the Family level: Trochilidae.

Conservation Status

Greenish Puffleg

LC — Least Concern

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Greenish Puffleg	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Greenish Puffleg

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Norway.

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Greenish Puffleg

A small, greenish hummingbird of humid Andean forests in Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama, greenish pufflegs are named for the distinctive white fluffy leg puffs — feather tufts on the tarsi — shared by all members of the puffleg genus Haplophaedia. They inhabit forest edges and secondary growth at elevations of 800–2,100 meters, foraging for nectar at small flowering plants in the understory. Listed as Least Concern with relatively stable populations across their range.

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