Long-tailed Sylph vs Short-toed Snake-Eagle

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Circaetus gallicus

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Short-toed Snake-Eagle is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Short-toed Snake-Eagle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)
Family	Trochilidae	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Circaetus
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Circaetus gallicus

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Short-toed Snake-Eagle share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Short-toed Snake-Eagle

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Short-toed Snake-Eagle
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.

Short-toed Snake-Eagle

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

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

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