Long-tailed Sylph vs Turquoise Cotinga

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Cotinga ridgwayi

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Turquoise Cotinga is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Turquoise Cotinga
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	Cotingidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Cotinga
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Cotinga ridgwayi

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Turquoise Cotinga

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Turquoise Cotinga
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.

Turquoise Cotinga

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Norway. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway