Long-tailed Sylph vs Soft Puffball

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Lycoperdon molle

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Soft Puffball
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Trochilidae	Lycoperdaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Lycoperdon
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Lycoperdon molle

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Soft Puffball

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Soft Puffball
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.

Soft Puffball

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (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.