Long-tailed Sylph vs Napo Sabrewing

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Campylopterus villaviscensio

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Napo Sabrewing is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Napo Sabrewing
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order same	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family same	Trochilidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Campylopterus
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Campylopterus villaviscensio

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Napo Sabrewing share a common ancestor at the Family level: Trochilidae.

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Napo Sabrewing

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Napo Sabrewing
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.

Napo Sabrewing

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Norway. 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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway