Long-tailed Sylph vs Scarlet Elfcup

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Sarcoscypha austriaca

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Scarlet Elfcup is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Scarlet Elfcup
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Pezizomycetes (Pezizomycetes)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Pezizales (Pezizales)
Family	Trochilidae	Sarcoscyphaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Sarcoscypha
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Sarcoscypha austriaca

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Scarlet Elfcup

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Scarlet Elfcup
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.

Scarlet Elfcup

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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