PO Box 9021, Wilmington, DE 19809, USA
E-mail: font@focusonnature.com
Phone: Toll-free in USA 1-888-721-3555
 or 302/529-1876

 

Birds of Amami 
during 
Focus On Nature Tours
on that Japanese island 

1996 thru 2014

noting months when found

An Amami Japan Bird List compiled by Armas Hill

PHOTOS AT RIGHT:
The AMAMI JAY, endemic to Amami & a nearby small island
and the AMAMI WOODCOCK, also nearly endemic to Amami. 
 

139 species of birds have been found during FONT tours in Amami.


Codes:

(JPi): introduced species in Japan

(t): a globally threatened or rare species, designated by Birdlife International.
(t1): critical
(t2): endangered
(t3): vulnerable
(nt): considered a near-threatened species globally

(JPr): rare in Japan
(JPrs): rare in Japan in spring/summer
(JPrw): rare in Japan in winter

(AMr): rare on Amami

(JPe): Japanese endemic
(JPeb): endemic breeder in Japan
(JPneb): near-endemic breeder in Japan

(AMe): Amami endemic (or nearly so for the Lidth's Jay (pictured above), found only on one other small island)

(p): seen pelagically, from the ferry offshore

A booklet is available from Focus On Nature Tours listing all the birds that have been found during over a decade of FONT tours in Japan, with more information than given here, noting, for example, the Japanese islands where, and the months when, sightings have occurred. Please e-mail us if you'd like to receive a copy.    



Our first birding tour to the remote Japanese island of Amami was in 1996. 
Since then, FONT has done more than 15 tours there, 
and that's the most by any bird tour company.
The first two times we visited Amami we made the local newspaper,
as shown above, and remembered here now about 10 years later.

Links:

Upcoming Japan Birding & Nature Tour Itineraries   

Cumulative List of Birds during FONT Japan Tours  (with photos)

Bird-List from previous Japan Tours in the Spring

Mammals during FONT Tours in Japan


Birds:

  1. Common Shelduck ______ jan

  2. Eurasian Wigeon ______ jan,feb,nov,dec

  3. Eurasian Teal ______ jan

  4. Gadwall ______ jan

  5. Mallard ______ jan,nov,dec

  6. Eastern Spot-billed Duck ______ jan,feb,jul,nov,dec

  7. Northern Pintail ______ feb,nov,dec

  8. Northern Shoveler ______ jan,dec

  9. Streaked Shearwater ______ may (p) 

  10. Short-tailed Shearwater ______ may (p)

  11. Flesh-footed Shearwater ______ may (p)
     
  12. Little Grebe ______ jan,nov,dec

  13. Eastern Cattle Egret ______ jan,may,dec

  14. Little Egret ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  15. Yellow-billed (or Intermediate) Egret ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  16. Great Egret ______ jan,may,jul,nov,dec

  17. Grey Heron ______ jan,may,jul,nov,dec

  18. Striated Heron ______ jan,nov

  19. Pacific (or Eastern) Reef Heron ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  20. Yellow (or Chinese Little) Bittern ______ jul,nov

  21. Cinnamon Bittern ______ jul

  22. Eurasian Spoonbill  (JPr) ______ jan

  23. Black-faced Spoonbill  (t1) (JPr) ______ dec

  24. Brown Booby ______  feb,nov

  25. Japanese (or Temminck's) Cormorant ______  jan,feb,nov,dec 

  26. Osprey ______ jan,feb,may,dec

  27. Eurasian Sparrowhawk ______ jan

  28. Japanese Sparrowhawk ______ jan,feb,may,dec

  29. Grey-faced Buzzard ______ jan.feb,nov,dec

  30. Common Kestrel ______ jan,feb,nov,dec

  31. Eurasian Hobby ______ jan 

  32. Peregrine Falcon ______ jan,nov,dec

  33. Ruddy-breasted Crake ______ jul

  34. Baillon’s Crake ______ nov

  35. Swinhoe’s (or Asian Yellow) Rail  (t3) (JPr) ______ dec

  36. Watercock ______ jul

  37. White-breasted Waterhen  ______  jan

  38. Common Moorhen ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  39. Eurasian Coot ______ jan,feb,nov

  40. Black-winged Stilt ______ jul

  41. Oriental Pratincole ______ may

  42. Long-billed Plover ______ jan,feb

  43. Little Ringed Plover ______ jan,feb,may,jul,dec

  44. Common Ringed Plover ______ dec

  45. Kentish Plover ______ jan,feb,may,nov,dec

  46. Lesser Sand Plover (or Mongolian Plover)  ______ jan,feb,may,nov,dec

  47. Greater Sand Plover  (JPr) (AMr) ______ jan,may

  48. Pacific Golden Plover ______ jan,dec

  49. Grey (or Black-bellied) Plover ______ jan,may,nov,dec

  50. Northern Lapwing ______ jan

  51. Red Knot ______ may

  52. Red-necked Stint ______ jan,feb,may,nov,dec

  53. Little Stint  (JPr) (AMr)  ______ may

  54. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper ______ may

  55. Curlew Sandpiper ______ may

  56. Dunlin ______ jan,nov,dec

  57. Sanderling ______ jan,may,nov

  58. Ruddy Turnstone ______ jan,feb,may,nov,dec

  59. Bar-tailed Godwit ______ may

  60. "Eurasian" Whimbrel ______ may

  61. Eurasian Curlew ______ jan

  62. Common Redshank  ______ may

  63. Common Greenshank ______ jan,feb,may,nov,dec

  64. Green Sandpiper ______ jan,dec

  65. Common Sandpiper ______ jan,feb,may,nov,dec

  66. Marsh Sandpiper ______ feb,may

  67. Wood Sandpiper ______ jul

  68. Terek Sandpiper ______ may

  69. Grey-tailed (or Polynesian) Tattler ______ jan,may,nov,dec

  70. Common Snipe ______ jan,may

  71. Solitary Snipe ______ feb

  72. Eurasian Woodcock ______ dec

  73. Amami Woodcock  (t3) (JPe) ______ jan,feb,jul,nov,dec

  74. Saunder’s Gull  (t2) ______ jan,nov

  75. Common Black-headed Gull ______ nov

  76. Black-tailed Gull  (JPneb) ______ jan,feb

  77. Vega (Herring) Gull ______ jan

  78. Whiskered Tern  (JPr) ______ may (p)

  79. Roseate Tern  (nt) ______ may,jul

  80. Little Tern ______ may

  81. Feral Pigeon  (JPi) ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  82. Oriental Turtle Dove ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  83. Whistling Green-Pigeon  (nt) ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  84. Japanese (or Black) Wood-Pigeon  (nt) (JPneb) ______ jan,feb,may,jul

  85. Oriental Scops-Owl ______ may,dec

  86. Ryukyu (or Elegant) Scops-Owl  (JPneb) ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec (formerly part of Oriental & Celebes Scops-Owls)

  87. Ryukyu (or Japanese) Hawk-Owl ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  88. Long-eared Owl ______ jan,feb,may

  89. House Swift ______ may,dec

  90. Ruddy Kingfisher ______ may,jul

  91. Common Kingfisher ______ jan,feb,may,nov,dec

  92. Amami (or Owston's) Woodpecker  (t2) (JPe) (AMe) ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec (has been considered as part of White-backed Woodpecker)

  93. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker ______ jan,feb,may,nov,dec

  94. Barn Swallow ______ jan,feb,dec

  95. Pacific Swallow ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  96. Red-rumped Swallow ______ may

  97. Asian House Martin ______ jan

  98. Olive-backed Pipit ______ dec

  99. Red-throated Pipit ______ jan

  100. "Siberian" Buff-bellied Pipit ______ jan,feb  (formerly part of Water Pipit)

  101. Grey Wagtail ______ jan,feb,nov,dec

  102. White Wagtail ______ jan,feb,nov,dec

  103. Brown-eared Bulbul  (JPneb) ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  104. Ryukyu Minivet  (JPe) ______ jan,feb,may,jul,dec

  105. Japanese Waxwing ______ jan

  106. Bohemian Waxwing  (AMr) ______ jan

  107. Eurasian Wren  (AMr) ______ jan

  108. Ryukyu Robin  (nt) (JAe) ______ jan,feb,may,nov,dec

  109. Siberian Rubythroat ______ jan

  110. Bluethroat  (JAr) ______ jan

  111. Daurian Redstart ______ jan,feb,nov,dec

  112. Red-flanked Bluetail  ______ jan,dec  (has also been called Orange-flanked Bush-Robin

  113. Blue Rock Thrush (red-bellied form) ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  114. White's (Ground) Thrush ______ jan,feb,dec 

  115. Amami Thrush  (t1) (JAe) (AMe) ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  116. Brown-headed Thrush  (JPneb) ______ jan,feb,nov,dec

  117. Pale Thrush ______ jan,feb,nov,dec

  118. Dusky Thrush ______ jan,feb,nov,dec

  119. Naumann's Thrush ______ feb  (was considered conspecific with Dusky Thrush)

  120. Japanese (Grey) Thrush ______ dec

  121. Japanese Bush Warbler ______ jan,feb,nov,dec

  122. Zitting Cisticola ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec (was called Fan-tailed Warbler)

  123. Arctic Warbler ______ jan,feb,nov,dec

  124. Yellow-browed Warbler  (JAr) ______ jan,nov

  125. Ryukyu Flycatcher  (t2) (JAe) ______ jan,may,nov  (resident in Nansei Shoto, has been part of Narcissus Flycatcher

  126. Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher  (nt) ______ may

  127. Varied Tit ______ jan,feb,may,nov,dec

  128. Eastern Great Tit ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  129. Japanese White-eye ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  130. Bull-headed Shrike ______ feb,dec

  131. Amami Jay  (t3) (JPe) (AMe) ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec  (has been called Lidth's Jay)

  132. Rook ______ dec

  133. Large-billed Crow ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  134. White-cheeked (or Grey) Starling ______ dec

  135. Eurasian Tree Sparrow ______ jan,feb,may,jul,nov,dec

  136. Eurasian Siskin ______ jan,dec

  137. Grey Bunting ______ dec

  138. Black-faced Bunting ______ jan,feb,nov,dec

  139. Yellow-throated Bunting ______ feb,dec


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