Long-tailed Sylph vs Mountain Argus

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Aricia montensis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Mountain Argus
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Trochilidae	Lycaenidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Aricia
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Aricia montensis

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Mountain Argus

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Mountain Argus
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.

Mountain Argus

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Andorra, Portugal, and Spain.

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.