Bad-smelling Alkanet vs Long-tailed Sylph

Alkanna maleolens compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Bad-smelling Alkanet is Critically Endangered while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bad-smelling Alkanet	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Plantae (bitki)	Animalia (hayvan)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Kordalılar)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Aves (kuş)
Order	Boraginales (Boraginales)	Apodiformes (Ebabiller)
Family	Boraginaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Alkanna	Aglaiocercus
Species	Alkanna maleolens	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

Bad-smelling Alkanet

CR — Critically Endangered

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bad-smelling Alkanet	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bad-smelling Alkanet

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Bad-smelling Alkanet

The Bad-smelling Alkanet (Alkanna maleolens) is a species in the genus Alkanna. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

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.