Coal Tit

Coal Tit (Periparus ater) is a small tit with a black cap and throat, white cheeks, grey back and a diagnostic white patch on the nape. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is strongly associated with coniferous forest across the Palearctic, searching foliage and cones for insects and seeds, caching food and nesting inside tree holes or other cavities. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).