Long-tailed Sylph vs Northern Pintail

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Anas acuta

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Northern Pintail is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Northern Pintail
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Anseriformes (Anseriformes)
Family	Trochilidae	Anatidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Anas
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Anas acuta

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Northern Pintail share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Northern Pintail

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Northern Pintail
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.

Northern Pintail

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (8 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, 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.

Northern Pintail

Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List. Facing a high risk of endangerment in the wild, with declining populations and increasing habitat pressure.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway 🇻🇪 Venezuela