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The long-tailed sylph is a species of hummingbird in the "coquettes", tribe Lesbiini of subfamily Lesbiinae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
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."
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
When to see it
Peak activity in November · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Violet-tailed SylphAglaiocercus coelestisThe 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.
Venezuelan SylphAglaiocercus berlepschiThe male Venezuelan sylph is 22 cm (8.7 in) long including the 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in) outer tail feathers and weighs 5.5 g (0.19 oz).
Learn the Long-tailed Sylph for real
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