Long-tailed Sylph vs Venezuelan Sylph

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Aglaiocercus berlepschi

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Venezuelan Sylph is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Venezuelan Sylph
Kingdom same	Animalia (สัตว์)	Animalia (สัตว์)
Phylum same	Chordata (สัตว์มีแกนสันหลัง)	Chordata (สัตว์มีแกนสันหลัง)
Class same	Aves (นก)	Aves (นก)
Order same	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family same	Trochilidae	Trochilidae
Genus same	Aglaiocercus	Aglaiocercus
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Aglaiocercus berlepschi

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Venezuelan Sylph share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Aglaiocercus.

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Venezuelan Sylph

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Venezuelan Sylph
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.

Venezuelan Sylph

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Norway and Venezuela. Currently classified as 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 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇻🇪 Venezuela