Long-tailed Sylph vs Pom-Pom Shadow Lichen

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Phaeophyscia pusilloides

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Pom-Pom Shadow Lichen is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Pom-Pom Shadow Lichen
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Caliciales (Caliciales)
Family	Trochilidae	Physciaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Phaeophyscia
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Phaeophyscia pusilloides

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Pom-Pom Shadow Lichen

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Pom-Pom Shadow Lichen
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.

Pom-Pom Shadow Lichen

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway, Portugal, and 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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway