Light Red Meranti vs Long-tailed Sylph

Shorea lepidota compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Light Red Meranti is Critically Endangered while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Light Red Meranti	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Malvales (Malvales)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Dipterocarpaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Shorea	Aglaiocercus
Species	Shorea lepidota	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

Light Red Meranti

CR — Critically Endangered

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Light Red Meranti

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

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.