Long-tailed Sylph vs Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Archilochus colubris

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Ruby-throated Hummingbird
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 same	Trochilidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Archilochus
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Archilochus colubris

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Ruby-throated Hummingbird share a common ancestor at the Family level: Trochilidae.

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Ruby-throated Hummingbird
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.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Norway and United States.

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