Long-tailed Sylph vs White-fronted Redstart

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Myioborus albifrons

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while White-fronted Redstart is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	White-fronted Redstart
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	Parulidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Myioborus
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Myioborus albifrons

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and White-fronted Redstart share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

White-fronted Redstart

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	White-fronted Redstart
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.

White-fronted Redstart

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Norway and Venezuela. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇻🇪 Venezuela