Long-tailed Sylph vs Purple Needletail

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Hirundapus celebensis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Purple Needletail
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order same	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Trochilidae	Apodidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Hirundapus
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Hirundapus celebensis

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Purple Needletail share a common ancestor at the Order level: Apodiformes. (Apodiformes)

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Purple Needletail

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Purple Needletail
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.

Purple Needletail

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Norway 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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway