Himalayan Maple vs Long-tailed Sylph

Acer oblongum compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Himalayan Maple	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Sapindales (Sapindales)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Sapindaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Acer	Aglaiocercus
Species	Acer oblongum	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

Himalayan Maple

LC — Least Concern

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Himalayan Maple	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Himalayan Maple

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, temperate coniferous forests, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 4 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Afghanistan, Algeria, and Tanzania.

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.