THIS WEEK’S THEME: LONG-TAILED
Sometimes a bird’s name tells you exactly what to look for. This week features five species whose names call attention to one particularly conspicuous feature—their remarkably long tails.
Scientific name
Aglaiocercus kingii
Taxonomic group
Trochilidae — Hummingbirds
Click photograph to view full size
A photograph is worth a thousand words, but the story makes it worth a few more.
ABOUT THIS SPECIES
Some birds need a story. Others are quite capable of being the story all by themselves.
The Long-tailed Sylph falls squarely into the second category.
High in the eastern Andes of Ecuador, the first thing that catches your attention is that extraordinary tail. In the male, the elongated outer tail feathers can reach roughly 12 centimeters in length, creating two impossibly long streamers that shimmer blue-green as the bird changes position. Add an iridescent green crown and body, and the result is a hummingbird that seems almost excessively well decorated.
There is also a wonderful bit of Andean geography wrapped up in the sylphs. Cross the Andes toward Ecuador’s Pacific slope and the Long-tailed Sylph is largely replaced by its close relative, the Violet-tailed Sylph (Aglaiocercus coelestis). The two share the same wonderfully exaggerated sylph design, but with different colors and distributions on opposite sides of the mountains.
I photographed this male at El Quetzal Bosque Protegido on Ecuador’s eastern Andean slope. There wasn’t a dramatic encounter or long pursuit behind the photograph. Sometimes there doesn’t need to be. A tiny iridescent hummingbird perched quietly with a tail nearly twice the length of its body was quite enough.
IMAGE DETAILS
LOCATION INFORMATION: El Quetzal Bosque Protegido · Ecuador · November 2, 2025
EQUIPMENT INFORMATION: Canon EOS R5 · Canon RF 100–500mm F4.5–7.1 L IS USM + RF 1.4x Extender
SETTINGS INFORMATION: 500mm · ƒ/7.1 · 1/320 sec · ISO 20000