Yellow-bellied Tit

Yellow-bellied Tit (Periparus venustulus) is a small Chinese tit whose male has a black-and-white head, dark wings and a vivid yellow belly. 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 inhabits temperate and moist lowland forest as well as urban green spaces, foraging actively for insects and seeds among branches; males maintain and recognise neighbouring territories. 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).