Long-tailed Sylph vs Ruddy Darter

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Sympetrum sanguineum

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Ruddy Darter
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Odonata (Odonata)
Family	Trochilidae	Libellulidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Sympetrum
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Sympetrum sanguineum

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Ruddy Darter share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Ruddy Darter

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Ruddy Darter
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.

Ruddy Darter

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden.

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.

Ruddy Darter

Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway