Long-tailed Sylph vs Reticulate Thistle

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Onopordum nervosum

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Reticulate Thistle is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Reticulate Thistle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Trochilidae	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Onopordum
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Onopordum nervosum

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Reticulate Thistle

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Reticulate Thistle
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.

Reticulate Thistle

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries) and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia).

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.