[For Seniors] Long-tailed Tit Trivia Quiz & Fun Facts: Learn Their Habits and Traits to Deepen Your Knowledge

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The long-tailed tit is a very small bird, about 14 centimeters in length, but the smallest bird in Japan is the goldcrest, which measures around 10 centimeters. Therefore, the long-tailed tit is known as the second smallest bird in Japan. Its round, adorable appearance is popular, and one of its charms is not only how cute it looks but also how astonishingly small it is.

Long-tailed tit dumpling

The sight of long-tailed tit chicks lined up on a branch and huddling together is called a “shimaenaga dango.” The name comes from how the chicks cling together like little white dumplings. By doing this, they retain body heat, and the still cold-sensitive chicks keep each other warm. This behavior is an important survival strategy. It’s not just adorable—it’s a habit full of ingenuity that helps them live robustly in the wild.

approximately 14 centimeters

Including the tail, the long-tailed tit measures about 14 centimeters in length. While its body itself is round and small, the long tail brings the total length to around 14 centimeters. It looks very small and cute, and its tail is also a standout feature. Since a sparrow’s body length is about 14–15 centimeters, the long-tailed tit appears to be about the same size as a sparrow, or slightly smaller.

There are black markings around the eyes like a panda.

Unlike adults, baby long-tailed tits develop panda-like black markings around their eyes. These markings fade as they grow, and when they reach adulthood, their faces become white. It’s a little-known fun fact, but you can only see this cute transformation during the breeding season. This feature is also very unique for distinguishing them from other birds.

Raise children cooperatively as a married couple

Long-tailed tits are known for building nests and raising their young cooperatively as pairs. The male and female share responsibilities such as incubating the eggs together and bringing food to the chicks. This cooperative parenting greatly increases the chicks’ chances of survival and is very important for ensuring they grow safely.

Presence or absence of facial markings

The Long-tailed Tit found on Honshu and the Hokkaido Long-tailed Tit (Shima-enaga) look very similar, but the Shima-enaga has a completely white face with no black markings around the eyes. The Long-tailed Tit has black facial markings (a supercilium), whereas the Shima-enaga is characterized by its round, white face. This difference in appearance is a key point for distinguishing the two. Other features (such as leg color and wing color) are shared.

There is hardly any difference.

Male and female long-tailed tits in Hokkaido (shima-enaga) look almost identical. Both have round white faces, fluffy bodies, black eyes, and long tails, and their color and size are nearly the same, making them very difficult to tell apart. While some wild bird species show differences in color or size between males and females, shima-enaga are notable for lacking such distinctions. Therefore, it is generally not possible to distinguish males from females by observation alone.