Bird flea vs Himmelssylphe

Ceratophyllus zhovtyi compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bird flea	Himmelssylphe
Kingdom same	Animalia (Tier)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Gliederfüßer)	Chordata (Chordatiere)
Class	Insecta (Insekten)	Aves (Vögel)
Order	Siphonaptera (Flöhe)	Apodiformes (Seglervögel)
Family	Ceratophyllidae	Trochilidae
Genus	Ceratophyllus	Aglaiocercus
Species	Ceratophyllus zhovtyi	Aglaiocercus kingii

Evolutionary Relationship

Bird flea and Himmelssylphe share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Tier)

Conservation Status

Bird flea

LC — Least Concern

Himmelssylphe

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bird flea	Himmelssylphe
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bird flea

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found in United States.

Himmelssylphe

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Bird flea

The Bird flea (Ceratophyllus zhovtyi) is a species in the genus Ceratophyllus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Himmelssylphe

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.