Long-tailed Sylph vs Small Adder's-Tongue

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Ophioglossum azoricum

Key Differences

Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Small Adder's-Tongue is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Small Adder's-Tongue
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Tracheophyta
Class	Aves (Birds)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Ophioglossales (Ophioglossales)
Family	Trochilidae	Ophioglossaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Ophioglossum
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Ophioglossum azoricum

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Small Adder's-Tongue

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Small Adder's-Tongue
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.

Small Adder's-Tongue

Habitat

Inhabits boreal forests and taiga within the Palearctic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden. Currently classified as Critically Endangered 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.