Cuteness Overload: The Tiny Cotton Ball-Like Birds Known As ‘Snow Fairies’ in Japan

If they fail to produce their own offspring, these sweet birds take on the task to care for others' nestlings.

Courtesy of Yuzuru Kitagawa

Disclaimer: This article was published in 2023. Some information may no longer be current.

Could these be the sweetest little birds on the planet? The Japanese certainly think so, calling the beloved, long-tailed sparrows “snow fairies.” Known as Shima-enaga, the round, white balls of fluff live on Japan’s second-largest island, Hokkaido.