Long-tailed Sylph vs Rock Foam

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Stereocaulon saxatile

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Rock Foam is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Rock Foam
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Lecanorales (Lecanorales)
Family	Trochilidae	Stereocaulaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Stereocaulon
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Stereocaulon saxatile

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Rock Foam

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Rock Foam
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.

Rock Foam

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and 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