Violet-tailed Sylph

Aglaiocercus coelestis

Cloud forest sylph with a violet tail longer than its body. Hovers at Andean blooms in Ecuador and Colombia.

Population: Not precisely quantified by number of mature individuals; species described as fairly common, with a suspected decreasing population trend (1-19% decline per decade) driven by habitat/tree-cover loss (~1.4% within mapped range)
Habitat: Subtropical/tropical montane cloudforest and semi-open forest-edge/shrubland habitats (forest-to-grassland transitions), at elevations of roughly 300-2,100 m, with core/optimal range around 900-2,100 m and highest densities near 1,000 m
Fun fact: Male Violet-tailed Sylphs grow dramatically elongated, iridescent violet-and-blue outer tail feathers (10-15 cm) that can be longer than the rest of the bird's body and are used in courtship display.
Range: Pacific slope of the Western Andes of Colombia and western Ecuador; extent of occurrence ~73,000 km²; two subspecies (nominate A. c. coelestis and A. c. aethereus) occupy different portions of this Pacific-slope range
Diet: Nectar, obtained via "trap-lining" a circuit of flowering plants, supplemented with small arthropods caught by hawking or gleaning from vegetation
Size: 0.19 m

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