PO Box 9021, Wilmington, DE 19809, USA
E-mail: font@focusonnature.com
Phone: Toll-free in USA 1-800-721-9986
 or 302/529-1876; Fax: 302/529-1085

 

Birds found during 
Focus On Nature Tours
on the main Japanese island 
of Honshu 

including the small offshore island
of Hegura 
 

1994 thru 2010

(during the months of January, February, April, 
 May, June, July, November, & December)

 

List compiled by Armas Hill

 


There have been 20 FONT Fall & Winter birding tours in Japan:  FW.
There have been 12 FONT Spring & Summer birding tours in Japan:  SP.
 During all of these 34 tours, there has been birding on Honshu, 
where cumulatively, 304 species of birds have been found! 


UPPER RIGHT PHOTO: A male BAIKAL TEAL,
as seen during FONT tours in Honshu during the Winter.    


Codes:

(i): introduced species

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

(JAr):       rare in Japan
(JArs):     rare in Japan in spring/summer
(JArw):    rare in Japan in winter

(JAe):      Japanese endemic
(JAeb):    Japanese endemic breeder
(JAneb):  Japanese near-endemic breeder

(p):  seen pelagically 
(p1):  offshore on the Pacific, off northern Honshu, from the large ferry to or from Hokkaido
(p2):  offshore on the Sea of Japan, from the small ferry to or from Hegura Island  
(po):  pelagic only  

FW: Seen during FONT Fall & Winter Japanese birding tours.
SP: Seen during FONT Spring Japanese birding tours.

HI: seen on Hegura Island (Hegura-jima) in the Sea of Japan off Honshu, (o): on Hegura Island only. (Hegura Island visited during Spring tours) 

Explanations pertaining to nomenclature (including some recent changes) & taxonomy (subspecies) are in the file "Japan Birds during FONT Birding & Nature Tours").  

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.    


Links:

Upcoming FONT Birding & Nature Tours in Japan  

Birds of Japan, Part 1: Pheasants to Pitta  (with photos) 

Birds of Japan, Part 2: Minivets to Buntings  (with photos)

Birds of Hegura Island (with some photos)

Birds during FONT Japan Tours in the Spring & Summer

Rare Birds during our Japan Tours  (with photos)

List of Japanese Mammals (with some photos)

List of Japanese Butterflies (with some photos)   

Directory of Photos in this FONT Website




List of Birds during FONT Tours in Honshu, Japan:

  1. Copper Pheasant (nt) (JPe) ______  SP,FW

  2. Japanese Green Pheasant (JPe) ______  SP,FW

  3. Mute Swan (JAi) ______  SP,FW

  4. Whooper Swan ______  FW

  5. "Bewick's" Tundra Swan  ______  FW

  6. Greater White-fronted Goose  ______  FW

  7. “Tundra” Bean Goose   ______  FW

  8. Snow Goose (JPr)  ______  FW

  9. Mandarin Duck (nt)   ______  SP,FW 

  10. Eurasian Wigeon  ______  SP,FW  HI     

  11. American Wigeon (JPr)  ______  FW

  12. Falcated Duck   ______  SP,FW

  13. Baikal Teal (t3) ______  FW

  14. Eurasian Teal  ______  SP,FW

  15. Garganey  ______  SP

  16. Gadwall  ______  SP,FW

  17. Mallard  ______  SP,FW  HI

  18. Eastern Spot-billed Duck   ______  SP,FW  HI 

  19. Northern Pintail  _____  SP,FW

  20. Northern Shoveler ______  SP,FW

  21. Common Pochard   ______  SP,FW

  22. Red-crested Pochard (JPr)  ______  FW

  23. Baer’s Pochard (JPr) ______  FW

  24. Ring-necked Duck (JPr)  ______  FW

  25. Tufted Duck  ______  SP,FW  

  26. Greater Scaup ______  SP,FW  (p) p1

  27. Harlequin Duck ______  SP,FW

  28. Long-tailed Duck  ______  FW (po)  p1

  29. American Scoter ______  SP,FW    p1       

  30. Common Goldeneye ______  FW

  31. Smew  ______  SP,FW

  32. Red-breasted Merganser  ______  SP,FW  HI

  33. Scaly-sided (or Chinese) Merganser (t3) (JPr)  ______  FW

  34. Common Merganser (or Goosander)  ______  SP,FW 

  35. Yellow-billed Loon (or White-billed Diver) ______  FW (po) p1  

  36. Red-throated Loon (or Red-throated Diver) ______  FW  

  37. Pacific Loon (or Pacific Diver) ______ SP,FW  p1  HI

  38. Arctic Loon  (or Black-throated Diver) ______  SP,FW  (p) p1

  39. Black-footed Albatross (t3) ______ SP,FW  (po) p1   
         

  40. Laysan Albatross ______  SP,FW  (po) p1                    

  41. Short-tailed (or Steller’s) Albatross (t2) ______  SP,FW  (po) p1     

  42. Northern Fulmar ______  SP,FW (po) p1                                       

  43. Bonin Petrel  (JAr)  ______  FW (po) p1

  44. Streaked Shearwater (JPneb) ______  SP,FW  (p) p1,2  HI 

  45. Buller’s Shearwater ______  SP (po) p1                                    

  46. Flesh-footed Shearwater ______  SP,FW  (po) p1   
                       

  47. Sooty Shearwater ______  SP (po) p1                                       

  48. Short-tailed Shearwater ______  SP,FW  (po) p1,2  HI   

  49. Tristram’s (or Sooty) Storm-Petrel (nt) (JArw) ______  SP,FW  (po) p1   

  50. Fork-tailed (or Grey) Storm-Petrel ______ SP,FW  p1     

  51. Little Grebe ______ SP,FW
                                            

  52. Black-necked (or Eared) Grebe ______ FW

  53. Horned (or Slavonian) Grebe ______ FW                                 

  54. Red-necked Grebe ______ SP,FW      

                                           

  55. Great Crested Grebe ______   SP,FW (p) p1  HI 

  56. Black-faced Spoonbill (t2) ______  FW

  57. Great Cormorant ______  SP,FW                                         

  58. Temminck's  (or Japanese) Cormorant (JPneb) ______  SP,FW (p) p1,2  HI

  59. Pelagic Shag (or Cormorant)  ______  SP,FW (p) p1,2  HI

  60. Eurasian Bittern  ______  FW

  61. Black-crowned Night-Heron  ______  SP,FW  HI 

  62. Chinese Pond Heron  (JPr)  ______  SP HIo 

  63. Eastern Cattle Egret  ______  SP HI      

  64. Chinese (or Swinhoe’s) Egret (t3) (JPr)  ______  SP HI     

  65. Little Egret  ______  SP,FW  HI  

  66. Intermediate Egret  ______  SP HI

  67. Great Egret  ______  SP,FW  HI

  68. Grey Heron  ______  SP,FW  HI

  69. Purple Heron (JPr)  ______  SP HIo

  70. Striated Heron  ______  SP  HI

  71. Pacific (or Eastern) Reef Heron ______  SP,FW  HI

  72. Oriental Honey Buzzard  ______  SP  HIo    

  73. Black-eared Kite ______  SP,FW   HI 

  74. White-tailed (Sea) Eagle (nt)  ______  FW

  75. Steller’s Sea Eagle (t3)  ______  FW

  76. Hen Harrier  ______  SP,FW  HI

  77. Eastern Marsh Harrier  ______  SP,FW  HI

  78. Northern Goshawk  ______  SP,FW

  79. Eurasian Sparrowhawk  ______  SP,FW  HI    

  80. Japanese Sparrowhawk  ______  SP HIo

  81. Grey-faced Buzzard  ______  SP  HI 

  82. Eastern Buzzard ______  SP,FW   HI

  83. Rough-legged Buzzard (or Rough-legged Hawk) ______  FW

  84. Mountain Hawk-Eagle ______  FW

  85. Osprey  ______  SP,FW  HI

  86. Eurasian Kestrel   ______  SP,FW HI

  87. Merlin  ______  FW

  88. Northern Hobby  ______  SP,FW  HI

  89. Amur Falcon  (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  90. Peregrine Falcon   ______  SP,FW  HI

  91. Gyrfalcon ______  FW (po)

  92. Ruddy-breasted Crake  ______  SP,FW  HI

     

  93. Common Moorhen  ______  SP,FW  HI

  94. Eurasian Coot  ______  SP,FW  HI

  95. Eurasian Oystercatcher (JPr)  ______ SP

  96. Black-winged Stilt ______ FW,SP 

  97. Long-billed Plover (nt) ______ FW,SP   

  98. Little Ringed Plover ______ FW,SP  HI

  99. Common Ringed Plover (JPrw) ______ FW,SP  HI

  100. Kentish Plover ______ FW,SP      

  101. Lesser Sand Plover  (has been called Mongolian Plover)  ______  SP  HI

  102. Pacific Golden Plover ______  SP HI  

  103. Grey (or Black-bellied) Plover  ______  SP,FW  

  104. Gray-headed Lapwing (nt)  ______  SP,FW

  105. Northern Lapwing  ______  FW

  106. Great Knot  ______  SP

  107. Red Knot _______  SP HI

  108. Red-necked Stint  (JPrw)  ______  SP,FW   HI

  109. Long-toed Stint  ______  SP  HIo   

  110. Sharp-tailed Sandpiper  ______  SP

  111. Curlew Sandpiper ______  SP

  112. Dunlin   ______  SP,FW  

  113. Broad-billed Sandpiper  ______  SP

  114. Sanderling  ______  SP,FW   (p) p2  HI

  115. Ruddy Turnstone _______  SP HI 

  116. Common Snipe  ______  SP,FW  HI

  117. Latham’s (or Japanese) Snipe  ______  SP  HIo  

  118. Solitary Snipe ______  FW

  119. Jack Snipe (JPr) ______ SP  HIo 

  120. Common Redshank (JPr)  ______  SP  

  121. Spotted Redshank  ______  SP

  122. Common Greenshank  ______  SP,FW  HI  

  123. Green Sandpiper ______  SP  HI

  124. Wood Sandpiper ______  SP HIo 

  125. Grey-tailed (or Polynesian) Tattler  ______  SP  HI

  126. Terek Sandpiper  ______  SP  HI

  127. Common Sandpiper  ______  SP,FW   HI

  128. Bar-tailed Godwit  ______  SP

  129. Eastern Black-tailed Godwit  ______  SP  HIo

  130. Eurasian Curlew   ______  SP,FW 

  131. Eastern Curlew (nt)  ______  SP

  132. “Eurasian” Whimbrel  ______  SP  HI

  133. Red-necked Phalarope  ______  SP,FW (po)  p1,2  HI

  134. Red (or Grey) Phalarope  ______  SP (po)  p1  

  135. Pomarine Skua (or Pomarine Jaeger)   ______  SP,FW  (po)  p1

  136. Parasitic Jaeger (or Arctic Skua)  ______  SP  (po)  p 2

  137. South Polar Skua  ______  SP (po)  p1  

  138. Black-headed Gull  ______  SP,FW (p) p1  HI

  139. Black-tailed Gull (JPneb)  ______  SP,FW   (p)  p1,2 HI

  140. "Kamchatka" Mew (or Common) Gull  ______  SP,FW  (p)  p1

  141. Vega (was part of Herring) Gull  ______  SP,FW  (p)  p1  HI

  142. “Mongolian” Yellow-legged Gull  ______  SP

  143. Thayer’s Gull  ______ FW

  144. Slaty-backed Gull  ______  SP,FW (p)  p1  hi m

  145. Glaucous-winged Gull  _____  SP,FW  (p)  p1  hi m

  146. Glaucous Gull  ______  SP,FW  (p)   p1

  147. Ross’ Gull  (JPr)  ______ FW
      

  148. Black-legged Kittiwake  ______  SP,FW  (p)     p1       

  149. Common Tern  ______  SP (p)    p2

  150. Little Tern  ______  SP (p)  p1

  151. Common Murre (or Guillemot)   _____  SP,FW  (po) p1

  152. Thick-billed Murre (or Brunnich’s Guillemot)  ______  FW  (po)  p1

  153. Spectacled Guillemot  ______  FW (po)  p1

  154. Pigeon Guillemot  ______  FW  (po)  p1

  155. Long-billed Murrelet  ______  FW (po)  p1

  156. Ancient Murrelet  ______  SP,FW  (p)  p1   HI

  157. Japanese Murrelet (t3) (JPe)  ______  SP (p) p2

  158. Crested Auklet  ______  SP,FW  (po)  p1

  159. Least Auklet  ______  FW  (po)  p1

  160. Rhinoceros Auklet  ______  SP,FW  (po)  p1,2

  161. Tufted Puffin (JPr) ______  FW (po)  p1

  162. Horned Puffin (JPr)  ______  SP (po)  p1

  163. Common (or Feral) Pigeon (JPi) ______  SP,FW  HI  

  164. Oriental Turtle Dove  ______  SP,FW (p)  p1 HI

  165. White-bellied Green Pigeon (nt)  ______  SP

  166. Black Wood Pigeon (nt) (JPneb)  ______  SP  HIo

  167. Rose-ringed Parakeet (JPi)  ______  SP

  168. Common Cuckoo  ______  SP  HI

  169. Oriental Cuckoo ______  SP  HI

  170. Lesser Cuckoo  ______  SP  HI

  171. Northern (formerly Hodgson’s) Hawk-Cuckoo  ______  SP

  172. Japanese Scops Owl  (formerly part of Collared Scops Owl)  ______ SP HIo

  173. Brown (or Oriental) Hawk-Owl  ______  SP  HI

  174. Ural Owl  ______  FW

  175. Short-eared Owl  ______  FW (p) p1

  176. Grey Nightjar  ______  SP  HI  

  177. Pacific Swift  ______  SP  (p) p2  HI   (another name: Asian White-rumped Swift)

  178. Oriental Dollarbird  ______  SP  HIo

  179. Ruddy Kingfisher  ______  SP  HIo

  180. Black-capped Kingfisher (JPr)   ______  SP HIo

  181. Common Kingfisher  ______  SP,FW  HI  

     

  182. Crested Kingfisher  ______  SP,FW     
                     
     

  183. Eurasian Hoopoe (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  184. Japanese Green Woodpecker (JPe)  ______  SP,FW

  185. Great Spotted Woodpecker  ______  SP,FW

  186. Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker  ______  SP,FW

  187. Greater Short-toed Lark (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  188. Eurasian Skylark  (subspecies japonica)  ______  SP,FW   
    (subspecies     pekinensis) (JPr) ______  SP HIo       

  189. Barn Swallow  ______  SP,FW  HI

  190. Sand Martin (or Bank Swallow)  ______  SP  HI

  191. Red-rumped Swallow  ______  SP  HI

  192. Asian House Martin  ______  SP

  193. Richard’s Pipit (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  194. Olive-backed Pipit  ______  SP,FW  HI

  195. Tree Pipit (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo  

  196. “Siberian” Buff-bellied Pipit  (was part of Water Pipit) ______  SP,FW  HI 

  197. Eastern Yellow Wagtail  (subspecies simillima) (JPr)   ______  SP  HIo  

  198. Grey Wagtail  ______  SP,FW  HI

  199. White Wagtail  (subspecies lugens: was Black-backed Wagtail  ______  SP,FW  HI   
    (subspecies     ocularis) (JPr)  SP  HIo 

  200. Japanese Wagtail (JPe)  ______  SP,FW

  201. Brown-eared Bulbul (JPneb)  ______  SP,FW  HI

  202. Ashy Minivet  ______  SP  HI

  203. Japanese Waxwing (nt)   ______  SP HI

  204. Bohemian Waxwing  ______  SP

  205. Brown (or Pallas’) Dipper ______  SP,FW

  206. Northern (or Winter) Wren  ______  SP,FW

  207. Japanese Accentor (JPe)  ______  FW

  208. Japanese Robin (JPneb)  ______  SP  HI

  209. Swinhoe's  (or Rufous-tailed) Robin  (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  210. Siberian Blue Robin  ______  SP  HI

  211. Siberian Rubythroat   ______  SP  HIo

  212. Bluethroat  (JPr)   ______  SP  HIo

  213. Daurian Redstart   ______  SP,FW  HI 

  214. Red-flanked Bluetail (or Siberian Bluechat or Orange-flanked Bush-Robin) ______  SP,FW  HI

  215. Desert Wheatear  (JPr)  ______  FW
     

  216. Pied Wheatear (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  217. Isabelline Wheatear  (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  218. Siberian Stonechat  ______  SP  HI

  219. Black Redstart  (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  220. Blue Rock Thrush (red-bellied form)   ______  SP,FW  HI

  221. White-throated Rock Thrush  (JPr)   ______  SP  HIo

  222. White’s (Ground) Thrush  ______  SP,FW  HI  

  223. Siberian (Ground) Thrush  ______  SP  HI 

  224. Brown-headed Thrush (JPneb)   ______  SP,FW  HI 

  225. Pale Thrush   ______  SP,FW  HI

  226. Eye-browed (or Grey-headed) Thrush  ______  SP  HIo

  227. Dusky Thrush (JPrs)  ______  SP,FW  HI 

  228. Naumann’s Thrush  (was conspecific with Dusky Thrush) ______ SP,FW  HI

  229. Japanese (Grey) Thrush  ______  SP  HI 

  230. Asian Stubtail (was Short-tailed Bush Warbler) ______  SP  HI 

  231. Japanese Bush Warbler   ______  SP,FW  HI

  232. Zitting Cisticola  (was called Fan-tailed Warbler) ______ SP HI 

  233. Gray’s (Grasshopper) Warbler  ______  SP  HIo

  234. Marsh Grassbird  (or Japanese Marsh Warbler) (t3) ______  SP

  235. Black-browed (or Schenk’s) Reed Warbler  ______  SP  HIo 

  236. Oriental Reed Warbler   ______  SP  HI 

  237. Eastern Crowned Warbler  ______  SP  HI 

  238. Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (formerly part of  Pale-legged Leaf Warbler) ______  SP  HI

  239. Dusky Warbler (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo 

  240. Radde’s Warbler (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  241. Arctic Warbler (subspecies borealis)  ______  SP,FW  HI

  242. Yellow-browed Warbler (JPr) ______  SP  HIo




    A Yellow-browed Warbler

  243. Siberian Chiffchaff  (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  244. Goldcrest   ______  SP,FW

  245. Blue-and-white Flycatcher  ______  SP  HI

  246. Asian Brown Flycatcher  ______  SP  HI

  247. Dark-sided (or Siberian) Flycatcher  ______  SP  HI

  248. Grey-streaked Flycatcher  ______  SP  HIo 

  249. Mugimaki Flycatcher (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo    

  250. Taiga (was part of Red-breasted) Flycatcher (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  251. Narcissus Flycatcher (JPneb)  ______  SP  HI

  252. Yellow-rumped (or Tricolored) Flycatcher (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  253. Japanese Paradise Flycatcher  ______  SP  HIo

  254. Long-tailed Bushtit  ______  SP,FW

  255. Willow Tit   ______  SP,FW

  256. Varied Tit  (JPneb)  ______  SP,FW  HI

  257. Coal Tit  ______  SP,FW  HI 

  258. Great Tit   ______  SP,FW 

  259. Eurasian Nuthatch  ______  SP,FW

  260. Eurasian Treecreeper  ______  FW

  261. Japanese White-eye  ______  SP,FW  HI 

  262. Bull-headed Shrike  ______  SP,FW  HI 

  263. Brown Shrike   ______  SP  HIo

  264. Tiger (or Thick-billed) Shrike  ______  SP  HIo

  265. Eurasian Jay  ______  SP,FW

  266. Azure-winged Magpie  ______  SP,FW

  267. Spotted Nutcracker  ______  SP

  268. Daurian Jackdaw  ______  FW

  269. Rook  ______  SP,FW  HI

  270. Carrion Crow   ______  SP,FW  HI

  271. Large-billed Crow  ______  SP, FW  HI

  272. Chestnut-cheeked Starling  (or Violet-backed Starling, or Myna) (nt) (JPeb)    ______  SP  HI 

  273. White-cheeked (or Grey) Starling   ______  SP,FW  HI 

  274. Daurian (or Purple-backed) Starling (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo     

  275. Crested Myna (JPi)  ______  FW

  276. Black Drongo (JPr)   ______  SP  HIo

  277. Black-naped Oriole (JPr) ______  SP HIo 

  278. Eurasian Tree Sparrow  ______  SP,FW HI

  279. Russet (or Cinnamon) Sparrow  ______  SP  HIo

  280. Brambling  ______  SP,FW  HI




    A female Brambling photographed during a 
    FONT tour in Japan.
     (photo by Paul West)
     

  281. Oriental (or Grey-capped) Greenfinch  ______  SP,FW  HI

  282. Eurasian Siskin  ______  SP,FW  HI

  283. Red (or Common) Crossbill  ______  FW

  284. Asian Rosy Finch   ______  SP,FW  HI

  285. Long-tailed Rosefinch  ______  SP,FW  HI 

  286. Pallas’ Rosefinch (JPr)  ______  SP FW 

  287. Eurasian Bullfinch ______  SP,FW  HI

  288. Japanese Grosbeak  ______  SP,FW  HI

  289. Chinese Grosbeak (JPr) ______  SP  HIo

  290. Hawfinch  ______  SP,FW  HI

  291. Grey Bunting (JPneb)  ______  SP,FW  HI 

  292. Black-faced Bunting  ______  SP,FW  HI 

  293. Japanese Yellow Bunting (t3) (JPeb)  ______  SP  HI

  294. Meadow Bunting  ______  SP,FW  HI 

  295. Yellow-breasted Bunting  ______  SP  HIo

  296. Chestnut Bunting (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo

  297. Chestnut-eared (or Grey-headed) Bunting  ______  SP HIo  

  298. Rustic Bunting  ______  SP,FW  HI 

  299. Elegant (or Yellow-throated) Bunting   ______  SP  HIo

  300. Yellow-browed Bunting (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo 

  301. Little Bunting (JPr)   ______  SP  HIo  

  302. Tristram’s Bunting (JPr)  ______  SP  HIo  
      

  303. Common Reed Bunting   ______  SP,FW  HI 

  304. Japanese Reed Bunting (nt)  ______  SP,FW