People Are In Love With Japan’s Adorable ‘Snow Fairy’ Birds

Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido is home to a lot of beauty and wonder. Known for its “world class powder snow” and stunning wilderness according to the country’s tourism website, the island draws a lot of attention from people around the world.

However, there’s one animal that lives on the island, in particular, that’s been gaining a lot of notoriety lately: the shima enaga.

The shima enaga is a subspecies of the long-tailed bushtit and it’s been gaining attention from people on social media for its unusual and adorable appearance.

Also known as a snow fairy, Hokkaido’s long-tailed bushtit isn’t like the bushtits of the other areas that boast largely brown, gray, or tan colors. Instead, the shima enaga is a lovely white color, lending to its nickname: snow fairy.

The renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition even shared a photo of the bird on twitter and it’s stunning.

In the photo, taken by Diana Rebman, you can see the white bird attempting to get a drink from an icicle dangling from a tree branch.

This new shot from #WPY55 takes us to the Japanese island of Hokkaido, where Diana Rebman came across this delightful scene. Here, a long-tailed tit is making every effort to drink a beakful of water from a long icicle hanging from a branch, taking turns with other birds. pic.twitter.com/28abjPsis0

— Wildlife Photographer of the Year (@NHM_WPY) September 18, 2019

Photographer @niiya_photo also shared some photos of the fluffy white bird and you can see how well it blends in with the snow.

She captioned the photos (translated), “The snow fairy is too cute.”

雪の妖精が可愛いすぎて辛い pic.twitter.com/l41nAOXhRP

— NIIYA (@niiya_photo) January 10, 2022

The bird is really something special and it’s easy to see why people are so obsessed with it!

You can check out the video below to see the “snow fairy” in action!