Mastodawn

#timelinecleanse #CuteAnimals

The illegally cute shima enaga aka Japanese Snow Fairy. Yes it can fly, yup it's real.

Credit for photograph is Emily Anne Photography, given by kind person in replies.

Programme meant for kids that got me started on this subject: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/4030088/

Snow Fairies ― Shima-Enaga - Darwin's Amazing Animals | NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Snow fairies are real and oh so cute! Join the Darwin team as the film crew heads north to Hokkaido to discover a range of behaviors of this long-tailed tit subspecies that will leave you spellbound.

NHK WORLD

@LuluHelle blobbird

@tay blob bird has amazing flight skills strangely enough.

Tay Nov 10, 2024

@LuluHelle it looks mildly aerodynamic, but its wings seem tiny!! It's probably 90% floofball though and weighs next to nothing!

Nov 10, 2024

@tay it's in the tit family and they are all pretty good flyers. In winter it's got a lot more fluff than in spring. They look almost like a different species then

@LuluHelle adorable!

@tay totally.I just watched a TV show about them and had to share the joy. In winter if they lucky, they get to lick icicles made from maple sap.

Pseudo Nym Nov 10, 2024

Looks like a Pokemon

@pseudonym it really does!

gnate Nov 11, 2024

@pseudonym As made by Hostess.

Marmly Owl Nov 11, 2024

@pseudonym @LuluHelle it even has a name that tells us it's an ice/fairy type.

George 🍦🚲 🥾 ✌️🌎 🌌Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle that really is so darn cute

@gecole remarkable wee thing and so, so cute

Lord Caramac the Clueless, KSC Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle It's the Eurasian long-tailed tit, called "Schwanzmeise" in my native tongue, German. These birds can be found in large parts of Europe and Asia.

@LordCaramac it's apparently a sub species. Found in Hokkaido. Aegithalos caudatus japonicus is the fancy pants name I found.

OldeHippi 🦋🎨🙏🌺Nov 11, 2024

Looks like a flying snowball!!

@OldeHippi hubs said the exact same thing

OldeHippi 🦋🎨🙏🌺Nov 11, 2024

I can just imagine seeing a flock of them flying!!!

@OldeHippi seeing them lick icicles, on the show I was watching, was a joy. I only saw wee groups of them in the show sadly.

Julio 🏳️‍🌈 🇨🇺 🇪🇸 🇺🇸Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle Yeah, and it appears fat.

@Blanco that's winter fluff

Shawn King Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle @[email protected] NO way. That’s CGI/AI. NO WAY something that delightfully chubby could fly with those little wings!

OMG THEY’RE REAL AND THEY’RE PAINFULLY CUTE!! ❤️

@KingShawn @Waitnwallflower right! I wouldn't steer you wrong!

ck0 Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle Which Pokémon is it ? I don't find it on my pokedex !

@ck0 it needs to be on one now!

I have no words that is so awesome

@clive I almost exploded from the cute overload when watching them on a show

I am literally afraid of seeing video of one of these things

it would stop my heart

@clive it was a delightful ordeal watching that show and learning all about them. If you can cope with the fact the show is formatted as a kids show, you can find it on nhk. I can try to find the name of it for you?

Sure, let me know!!

@clive finally found it...
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/4030088/
Hopefully that works

Snow Fairies ― Shima-Enaga - Darwin's Amazing Animals | NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Snow fairies are real and oh so cute! Join the Darwin team as the film crew heads north to Hokkaido to discover a range of behaviors of this long-tailed tit subspecies that will leave you spellbound.

NHK WORLD

SteveBologna Nov 11, 2024

Aha, thank you!!!

I've been sharing all this with my family, my wife and teenage sons are super digging this

@clive yay so happy!

@LuluHelle That is ridiculously cute

That is the second roundest bird I have ever seen.

@dogfox I'm curious as to what the roundest one is!

I went to a bird sanctuary near Niagara falls on the Canadian side. They had these birds in there that looked like softballs with wings just taped flat to the side. It as wild.

@dogfox ooh wonder if they're same species?

I have no idea. The place was in a greenhouse so I think the birds were tropical. They were colored very differently with golden brown bodies and dark wings.

@dogfox this is part of the long tailed tit family. I know there's a lot of those in many glorious colours. The thought there's more than one type of cotton ball of joy out there, brings me delight

I am glad!

These things were literally the size of softballs, so kind of monster cotton balls.

@dogfox squeeeeeeeeeeee

Nyakojiru Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle there is something weird all that comes from Japan is cute

@nyakojiru I would get lost in the snow looking at those. Brrrrrr ❄️

Jeri Dansky Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle To credit the source, Emily Anne Photography: https://www.facebook.com/emannephotography/posts/japanese-snow-fairy-/972614134868783/

Emily Anne Photography

Japanese snow fairy 🤍

@jeridansky thanks, the source I got it from was Reddit with no photographer information

Jeri Dansky Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle I did a Google image search for exact matches and it came up there!

Pelopon Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle porque no lo he visto em ningun anime?

@Pelopon I may have seen it in a few. It's definitely a common motif on items in Japan cos so cute

No Gods , no Masters! RESIST Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle
That's the cutest thing I have ever seen...😍

✶Rayotron✶Nov 11, 2024

OMG, it's real...

@rayotron holy mascot fail

✶Rayotron✶Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle
Haha, got that right! But oh they brought us so much joy! Thank you Fukushima Industries!

neville park Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle Note: this is specifically a long-tailed tit, _Aegithalos caudatus_, found throughout Eurasia (https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Long-tailed_Tit/overview). *edit: removed subspecies, fuck IDing things to subspecies

I am not sure who originally took this photo.

For very similar photos, see Hajime Nakatsuka (https://www.instagram.com/hajime7212), e. g. https://www.instagram.com/hajime7212/p/C5fRxOERqqE/

Or this photo set, only credited to the Asahi Shimbun: https://www.gettyimages.ie/editorial-images/news/event/long-tailed-tit-in-hokkaido/775926524

While I'm at it, here's my blog post about why picspam (unsourced viral shit regurgitated around Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, etc.) is bad: https://out.flipping.rocks/blog/why-picspam-and-repost-accounts-are-bad/

Long-tailed Tit Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology

The Long-tailed Tit is one of Europe’s smallest and cutest birds—a white, black, and pink fluffball with an exceptionally long tail. These distinctive songbirds spend much of their time in groups. They form noisy foraging flocks by day, keep warm on cold nights by huddling along a tree branch, and even help their relatives raise young. Long-tailed Tits occur in almost any habitat with trees or shrubs, including woodlands, gardens, and parks, but they typically don’t stick around for long—these restless birds are constantly on the move in search of caterpillars and other insects.

@nev I think it's a sub species called Aegithalos caudatus japonicus

neville park Nov 11, 2024

@LuluHelle that'll teach me to fuck around with subspecies

@nev I only know because I watched a show all about them earlier. Very interesting and adorable