Long-tailed Sylph vs Onion Smut

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Urocystis magica

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Onion Smut is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Onion Smut
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Ustilaginomycetes (Ustilaginomycetes)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Urocystidales (Urocystidales)
Family	Trochilidae	Urocystidaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Urocystis
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Urocystis magica

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Onion Smut

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Onion Smut
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.

Onion Smut

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway, Poland, 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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway