Long-tailed Sylph vs Yellow Map Lichen

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Rhizocarpon geographicum

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Yellow Map Lichen
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Rhizocarpales (Rhizocarpales)
Family	Trochilidae	Rhizocarpaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Rhizocarpon
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Rhizocarpon geographicum

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Yellow Map Lichen

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Yellow Map Lichen
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.

Yellow Map Lichen

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia).

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:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇳🇴 Norway