Long-tailed Sylph vs Marbled Skipper

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Carcharodus lavatherae

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Marbled Skipper is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Marbled Skipper
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Trochilidae	Hesperiidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Carcharodus
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Carcharodus lavatherae

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Marbled Skipper share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Marbled Skipper

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Marbled Skipper
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Marbled Skipper

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (23 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.