Long-tailed Sylph vs Scuttle fly

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Megaselia scalaris

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Scuttle fly is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Scuttle fly
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Trochilidae	Phoridae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Megaselia
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Megaselia scalaris

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Scuttle fly

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Scuttle fly
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.

Scuttle fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Taiwan), Europe (14 countries), and North America (Costa Rica, 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