Long-tailed Sylph vs Oak Blackhead

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Diatrypella quercina

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Oak Blackhead
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Sordariomycetes (Sordariomycetes)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Xylariales (Xylariales)
Family	Trochilidae	Diatrypaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Diatrypella
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Diatrypella quercina

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Oak Blackhead

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Oak Blackhead
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.

Oak Blackhead

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

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.