Shima Enaga - Long Tailed Bushtit - Hokkaido Winter Wonderland Birding

Shima-Enaga is one of my favorite birds on our planet, and they are a sweetheart looking “Bonnie of a Bird,” and they have a uniquely all-white face and is a subspecies of the long-tailed bushtit. The Shima-Enaga occur mostly in Hokkaido, Japan. But they inhabit the entire Palearctic realm. The long-tailed tit is sometimes referred to as the silver-throated tit or silver-throated dasher. The long-tailed tit was first classified as a tit of the Parus group. The Parus has been split from the Aegithalidae and becoming a distinct family containing three sub-group families.

Aegithalos (long-tailed tits) are five species birds with a tail.

Psaltriparus (North America Bushtit), monotypic.

Psaltriparus (pygmy bushtit), monotypic.

The long-tailed tit is insectivorous throughout the year. The Shima-Enaga eat predominantly arthropods and prefer the eggs and astronomical huge moths and butterflies, and they supplement their diet with vegetable matter. Outside of the breeding season, July to February, they live in flocks from about of half a dozen to two dozen composed of the family (parents and offspring) from the previous breeding season, together with extra adults that help raise the brood. The reason for the flocking behavior is believed to be due to winter roosting as they are susceptible to cold, and they huddle for warmth on cold nights. When the breeding season begins, the flock breaks up, and the birds attempt to breed in monogamous pairs. Females tend to wander into neighboring territories, while males remain within their winter territories.

Our veteran workshop leader photographed these Shima-Enaga while leading his annual birding and landscape photography tour in Hokkaido 2020. The Nikon D850 was his choice of camera. His lens was an 800mm f5.6. The camera settings were f/8 1/2000s ISO 4000. He mentioned that he would have liked to use a lower iso and a higher f stop, but the lighting conditions were not in his favor. He is looking forward to photographing these beautiful birds next February on our annual Hokkaido winter wonderland wildlife expedition including, Mt. Fuji, Snow Monkeys, The Steller's Sea Eagles, other raptors, and the Red-Crowned cranes, plus a wide variety of other wildlife, and landscapes.