Aglaiocercus kingii
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
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. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 2 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 4 | Podocarpus National Park | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Chingaza National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 6 | Manu National Park | 🇵🇪 Peru |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Sylph sighting in Los Nevados National Natural Park on a given day, based on 938 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 50th most-seen of the 424 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, April–May, July–August and October–December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Long-tailed Sylph in Los Nevados National Natural Park on a given day, against about 10% in January, March, June and September, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Long-tailed Sylph sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Long-tailed Sylph sightings, Los Nevados National Natural Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Henri Pittier National Park (Venezuela, about 30%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Long-tailed Sylph that you can see in Los Nevados National Natural Park (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Shining Sunbeam (about 40%), Great Sapphirewing (about 40%) and Golden-breasted Puffleg (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Long-tailed Sylph is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Nevados National Natural Park (938 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
