Long-tailed Sylph vs Robust Golden Mole

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Amblysomus robustus

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Robust Golden Mole is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Robust Golden Mole
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Afrosoricida (Afrosoricida)
Family	Trochilidae	Chrysochloridae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Amblysomus
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Amblysomus robustus

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Robust Golden Mole share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Robust Golden Mole

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Robust Golden Mole
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.

Robust Golden Mole

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

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.