Long-tailed Sylph vs Red Hemp-nettle

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Galeopsis angustifolia

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Red Hemp-nettle is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Red Hemp-nettle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Lamiales (Lamiales)
Family	Trochilidae	Lamiaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Galeopsis
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Galeopsis angustifolia

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Red Hemp-nettle

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Red Hemp-nettle
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.

Red Hemp-nettle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found across Europe (14 countries) and North America (United States). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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