Long-tailed Sylph

About the Long-tailed Sylph

The long-tailed sylph (Aglaiocercus kingii) is a species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The taxonomy of genus Aglaiocercus and of the long-tailed sylph in particular are complicated. The genus also includes two other sylphs, the violet-tailed (A. coelestis) and Venezuelan (A. berlepschi), and the three have several times been suggested to be either one or two species. Several additional species have been proposed for inclusion but they have almost conclusively been shown to be hybrids with kingii or one of the other sylphs. Since at least the early 2000s taxonomists have settled on the three-species treatment.

The long-tailed sylph has these six accepted subspecies. However, early in the 20th century, caudatus and mocoa were treated by some authors as separate species. A. k. margarethae Heine (1863) A. k. caudatus Berlepsch (1893)

A. k. emmae Berlepsch (1893) A. k. kingii Lesson (1832) A. k. mocoa Delattre & Bourcier (1846) A. k. smaragdinus Gould (1846) The male long-tailed sylphs are 16 to 19 cm (6.3 to 7.5 in) long including... Wikipedia →