Long-tailed Sylph vs True kola

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Cola acuminata

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	True kola
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Malvales (Malvales)
Family	Trochilidae	Malvaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Cola
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Cola acuminata

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

True kola

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	True kola
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.

True kola

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found in Costa Rica.

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.