Long-tailed Sylph vs

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Pseudanabaena limnetica

Key Differences

Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Bacteria (Bacteria)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Cyanobacteria (Cyanobacteria)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Cyanobacteriia
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Pseudanabaenales (Pseudanabaenales)
Family	Trochilidae	Pseudanabaenaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Pseudanabaena
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Pseudanabaena limnetica

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph
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.

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Taiwan.

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.

Pseudanabaena limnetica is a slender, filamentous cyanobacterium commonly found in the plankton of freshwater lakes, reservoirs, and ponds worldwide. Its single-celled, bead-like trichomes are loosely arranged and lack heterocysts, distinguishing it from nitrogen-fixing relatives. This cyanobacterium can form dense blooms in eutrophic water bodies and contributes to primary production in the water column.