Long-tailed Sylph vs Violet-tailed Sylph

Long-tailed Sylph

Aglaiocercus kingii

Tiny5 gForest

The male long-tailed sylphs are 16 to 19 cm (6.3 to 7.5 in) long including the 12 cm (4.7 in) outer tail feathers, and weigh 5 to 6 g (0.18 to 0.21 oz). Females are 9.7 to 11.7 cm (3.8 to 4.6 in) long and weigh 4.5 to 4.7 g (0.16 to 0.17 oz). All subspecies have a short black bill. Males of the nominate subspecies A. k. kingii have a shining emerald green crown, metallic bronzy green upperparts, duller green underparts with an olive cast, and a blue or violet throat. The inner tail feathers are very short and the outer ones very long. Voice: The long-tailed sylph's apparent song is "a continuous series of buzzy notes 'bzzt...bzzt...bzzt...'." Its calls include "a repeated, short, buzzy or raspy 'dzzrt'...a more drawn-out, higher-pitched 'bzzeeew' a thin high-pitched rising twittering."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Don Henise · CC BY 2.0

Violet-tailed Sylph

Aglaiocercus coelestis

Tiny6 gForest

The male long-tailed sylphs are 18 to 21 cm (7.1 to 8.3 in) long including the 10 to 15 cm (3.9 to 5.9 in) outer tail feathers. Females are 9.5 to 9.7 cm (3.7 to 3.8 in) long. The species weighs 4.6 to 5.2 g (0.16 to 0.18 oz). Both subspecies have a short black bill. Males of the nominate subspecies have a shining green crown and back, that becomes violet-blue on the rump. They have a buffy spot behind the eye, a violet-blue gorget, and green underparts. The inner tail feathers are short and the outer ones very long, and the feathers are iridescent metallic violet with blue tips. Voice: The violet-tailed sylph's apparent song is "a continuous series of short notes, 'psit..psit..psit..'." Its calls include "a repeated, short, buzzy single or double 'bzzt' or 'bz-zzrt'...a higher-pitched drawn-out 'bzeee' a high-pitched falling/rising twittering 'seee..seee..seee..seee..tr-tr-tititi-teetsee..see..see'."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ben Tavener · CC BY 2.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Long-tailed Sylph and Violet-tailed Sylph.