Long-tailed Sylph vs Orchid

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Dendrobium mirbelianum

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Orchid
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Asparagales (Asparagales)
Family	Trochilidae	Orchidaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Dendrobium
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Dendrobium mirbelianum

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Orchid

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Orchid
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.

Orchid

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Found in United States.

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.