Long-tailed Sylph vs Rufous Minor

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Oligia versicolor

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Rufous Minor is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Rufous Minor
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Trochilidae	Noctuidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Oligia
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Oligia versicolor

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Rufous Minor

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Rufous Minor
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.

Rufous Minor

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. 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