Limestone Violet vs Long-tailed Sylph

Viola calcicola compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Limestone Violet is Near Threatened while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Limestone Violet	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Violaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Viola	Aglaiocercus
Species	Viola calcicola	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

Limestone Violet

NT — Near Threatened

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Limestone Violet	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Limestone Violet

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.