Long-tailed Sylph vs Shadow Darner

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Aeshna umbrosa

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Shadow Darner
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Odonata (Odonata)
Family	Trochilidae	Aeshnidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Aeshna
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Aeshna umbrosa

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Shadow Darner

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Shadow Darner
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.

Shadow Darner

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found in 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.