'Ihi vs Long-tailed Sylph

Oxalis corniculata compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	'Ihi	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Oxalidales (Oxalidales)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Oxalidaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Oxalis	Aglaiocercus
Species	Oxalis corniculata	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

'Ihi

LC — Least Concern

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	'Ihi	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

'Ihi

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and deserts and xeric shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (18 countries), Asia (17 countries), Europe (30 countries), North America (7 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (11 countries), and South America (7 countries).

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 2 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇳🇴 Norway