Light Bossé vs Long-tailed Sylph

Leplaea cedrata compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Light Bossé is Vulnerable while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Light Bossé	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	Meliaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Leplaea	Aglaiocercus
Species	Leplaea cedrata	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

Light Bossé

VU — Vulnerable

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Light Bossé	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Light Bossé

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and mangrove forests and coastal wetlands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Guinea. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.