Long-tailed Sylph vs St. James' shell

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Pecten maximus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	St. James' shell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Mollusca (Mollusks)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Bivalvia (Bivalvia)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Pectinida (Pectinida)
Family	Trochilidae	Pectinidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Pecten
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Pecten maximus

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and St. James' shell share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

St. James' shell

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	St. James' shell
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.

St. James' shell

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (China), Europe (8 countries), and South America (Chile).

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.

St. James' shell

St. James' shell (Pecten maximus) 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 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway