Long-tailed Sylph vs Tropical Kingbird

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Tyrannus melancholicus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Tropical Kingbird
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Passeriformes (Songbirds)
Family	Trochilidae	Tyrannidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Tyrannus
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Tyrannus melancholicus

Evolutionary Relationship

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

View Class: Aves

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Tropical Kingbird

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Tropical Kingbird
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.

Tropical Kingbird

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.

Tropical Kingbird

Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus) 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.