Japanese Tit (Parus minor)

OTHER NAMES: Oriental Tit 

Latin Etymology: Parus ("tit") minor ("smaller")

Japanese Tit (Parus minor) at Shiranuka, Hokkaido, Japan - November 2014

Featured Subspecies: Parus minor minor
Weight: 16g  /  Length: 12.5-14cm  /  Wingspan: 22-25cm
ABSENT FROM UK / IUCN Red List - Least Concern

Yet another recent split from a parent species,.the Japanese Tit is essentially the Great Tit of East Asia, essentially looking indistinguishable from them.  They were a fairly common sight in my visits to parks and forests in Japan, and the most common of the tits there.  Apparently both this and the Great Tit coexist without notably interbreeding, but personally, from the admittedly distant views I had of them, I couldn't differentiate the two in the field from the fleeting views I had if both were present.  I saw a few more in Shiranuka in a mixed flock during my second Japan visit.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Genus: Parus
Subspecies:  P. m. minor, P. m. tibetanus, P. m. subtibetanus, P. m. nubicolus, P. m. dageletensis, P. m. amamiensis, P. m. okinawae, P. m. nigriloris, P. m. commixtus

- Sighting Locations -

JAPAN - Japanese - シジュウカラ / Shijū-kara ("Forty Tit")

Locally abundant resident of rocky coasts.

 - KYOTO/OSAKA 2013 TRIP: A number of birds at the Imperial Palace Gardens in Kyoto.

 - TOKYO/HOKKAIDO 2014 TRIP: Two birds at Shiranuka.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto