15 Strange And Beautiful Hummingbird Species

Long-Tailed Sylph: Male long-tailed sylphs (Aglaiocercus kingii) have amazingly long tails, around five inches in length. They are so long that they actually hamper the birds' flight, requiring males to be especially strong and skilled fliers to survive to breeding age.2 Females choose their mates based on the size of those tail feathers, as they are a symbol of strength and fitness. Males also exhibit a stunning iridescent blue and green coloring. Long-tailed sylphs prefer high elevations. They occur most commonly in the Andes, from Venezuela to Bolivia.