Long-tailed Sylph vs White-shouldered Ibis

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Pseudibis davisoni

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while White-shouldered Ibis is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	White-shouldered Ibis
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Pelecaniformes (Pelecaniformes)
Family	Trochilidae	Threskiornithidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Pseudibis
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Pseudibis davisoni

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

White-shouldered Ibis

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	White-shouldered Ibis
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-shouldered Ibis

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Norway. Currently classified as Critically Endangered 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