Long-tailed Sylph vs McGregor Pincushion

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Leucospermum harpagonatum

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while McGregor Pincushion is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	McGregor Pincushion
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Proteales (Proteales)
Family	Trochilidae	Proteaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Leucospermum
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Leucospermum harpagonatum

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

McGregor Pincushion

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	McGregor Pincushion
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.

McGregor Pincushion

Habitat

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

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.