Species information
Scientific name: Sittiparus varius amamii
Japanese name: アマミヤマガラ
Chinese name: 雜色山雀（奄美亞種）
English name: Varied tit (Amami subspecies)
Origin: Amami Oshima, Tokunoshima, Okinawajima, Gajajima in the Tokara Islands
Ecology and description
The Amami subspecies of the varied tit (Sittiparus varius amamii) is found on Amami Oshima, Tokunoshima, Okinawajima, and Gajajima in the Tokara Islands. Other subspecies occur elsewhere in Japan: the nominate subspecies S. v. varius on mainland Japan, S. v. yakushimensis on Yakushima, and S. v. sunsunpi on Tanegashima. The populations of Iriomote and Taiwan were once included in this species as well, but they are now treated as separate species (S. olivaceus on Iriomote, and the chestnut-bellied tit S. castaneoventris in Taiwan).
This species is about the size of a sparrow, with a body length of about 13 to 15cm. The head is black, with white from the forehead to the cheeks, and a black band runs from the base of the lower bill to the chest. The belly is brownish.
It lives in evergreen and deciduous broadleaf forests. It is omnivorous, feeding on insects, spiders, fruits and seeds, mainly animal prey in summer and mainly fruit in winter.
Reference: Japanese Wikipedia: ヤマガラ
Field photographs taken during our tours, with observation dates
During our 【Morning Birding】 tours, we sometimes have opportunities to see this species.
