Long-tailed Sylph vs Squirrel Cuckoo

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Piaya cayana

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Squirrel Cuckoo
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Cuculiformes (Cuculiformes)
Family	Trochilidae	Cuculidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Piaya
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Piaya cayana

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Squirrel Cuckoo share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Squirrel Cuckoo

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Squirrel Cuckoo
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.

Squirrel Cuckoo

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

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.

Squirrel Cuckoo

Squirrel Cuckoo (Piaya cayana) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇳🇴 Norway 🇻🇪 Venezuela