Long-tailed Sylph vs Merida Andes Treefrog

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Hyloscirtus platydactylus

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Merida Andes Treefrog is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Merida Andes Treefrog
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Amphibia (Amphibians)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Anura (Frogs & Toads)
Family	Trochilidae	Hylidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Hyloscirtus
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Hyloscirtus platydactylus

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Merida Andes Treefrog share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Merida Andes Treefrog

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Merida Andes Treefrog
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.

Merida Andes Treefrog

Habitat

Typically found in freshwater habitats, moist forests, and wetlands.

Range

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

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇻🇪 Venezuela