Birds during FONT Tours in Honshu Japan

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 during FONT
Birding & Nature Tours
on the main Japanese island of
Honshu

including the small offshore island
of Hegura

1994 thru 2008

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

List compiled by Armas Hill

There have been 19 FONT Fall & Winter birding tours in Japan: FW.
There have been 11 FONT Spring birding tours in Japan: SP.
During all of these 30 tours, there has been birding on Honshu,
where cumulatively, 302 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 Japan Birding Tour Itineraries

Bird-List from previous Japan Tours in the Spring

Birds of Hegura Island

Birds of the Island of Amami

Rare Birds during our Japan Tours

List of Japanese Mammals

List of Japanese Butterflies

Directory of Photos in this Website, in this list & others

List of Birds during FONT Tours in Honshu, Japan:

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

During our January 2007 tour on Honshu,
we saw, very closely, a male Copper Pheasant.
(Japanese) Green Pheasant (JPe) ______ SP,FW
Mute Swan (JAi) ______ SP,FW
Whooper Swan ______ FW
“Bewick’s” Tundra Swan ______ FW
Greater White-fronted Goose ______ FW
“Tundra” Bean Goose ______ FW
Snow Goose (JPr) ______ FW
Mandarin Duck (nt) ______ SP,FW

Male & female Mandarins photographed during a FONT tour
in Japan in the winter, in Tokyo
Eurasian Wigeon ______ SP,FW HI
American Wigeon (JPr) ______ FW
Falcated Duck ______ SP,FW

Falcated Duck
Baikal Teal (t3) ______ FW
Eurasian Teal ______ SP,FW
Garganey ______ SP
Gadwall ______ SP,FW
Mallard ______ SP,FW HI
Eastern Spot-billed Duck ______ SP,FW HI
Northern Pintail _____ SP,FW
Northern Shoveler ______ SP,FW
Common Pochard ______ SP,FW
Red-crested Pochard (JPr) ______ FW
Baer’s Pochard (JPr) ______ FW
Ring-necked Duck (JPr) ______ FW
Tufted Duck ______ SP,FW
Greater Scaup ______ SP,FW (p) p1
Harlequin Duck ______ SP,FW

Colorful and boldly-patterned Harlequin Ducks have been
seen during FONT tours in Japan in the winter along
the coasts of both Hokkaido and Honshu.
Once, we saw the species in Honshu in the spring (in May).
Long-tailed Duck ______ FW (po) p1
American Scoter ______ SP,FW p1
Common Goldeneye ______ FW
Smew ______ SP,FW
Red-breasted Merganser ______ SP,FW HI
Scaly-sided (or Chinese) Merganser (t3) (JPr) ______ FW
Common Merganser (or Goosander) ______ SP,FW
Yellow-billed Loon (or White-billed Diver) ______ FW (po) p1
Red-throated Loon (or Red-throated Diver) ______ FW
Pacific Loon (or Pacific Diver) ______ SP,FW p1 HI
Black-throated Loon (has been Arctic Loon, or Black-throated Diver) ______ SP,FW (p) p1
Black-footed Albatross (t3) ______ SP,FW (po) p1
Laysan Albatross ______ SP,FW (po) p1
Short-tailed (or Steller’s) Albatross (t2) ______ SP,FW (po) p1
Northern Fulmar ______ SP,FW (po) p1
Bonin Petrel (JAr) ______ FW (po) p1
Streaked Shearwater (JPneb) ______ SP,FW (p) p1,2 HI
Buller’s Shearwater ______ SP (po) p1
Flesh-footed Shearwater ______ SP,FW (po) p1
Sooty Shearwater ______ SP (po) p1
Short-tailed Shearwater ______ SP,FW (po) p1,2 HI
Tristram’s (or Sooty) Storm-Petrel (nt) (JArw) ______ SP,FW (po) p1
Fork-tailed (or Grey) Storm-Petrel ______ SP,FW p1
Little Grebe ______ SP,FW

Little Grebe, at the moat of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo
Black-necked (or Eared) Grebe ______ FW
Horned (or Slavonian) Grebe ______ FW
Red-necked Grebe ______ SP,FW
Great Crested Grebe ______ SP,FW (p) p1 HI
Black-faced Spoonbill (t2) ______ FW

Every year, some Black-faced Spoonbills winter in Japan.
During FONT tours, we've seen this very rare species usually
on southern Japanese islands (Kyushu, Amami, & Okinawa),
but in January 2007 we saw it, for the first time, on Honshu.
Great Cormorant ______ SP,FW
Japanese (or Temminck’s) Cormorant (JPneb) ______ SP,FW (p) p1,2 HI
Pelagic Shag (or Cormorant) ______ SP,FW (p) p1,2 HI
Eurasian Bittern ______ FW
Black-crowned Night-Heron ______ SP,FW HI
Chinese Pond Heron (JPr) ______ SP HIo
“Eastern” Cattle Egret ______ SP HI
Chinese (or Swinhoe’s) Egret (t3) (JPr) ______ SP HI
Little Egret ______ SP,FW HI
Yellow-billed (or Intermediate) Egret ______ SP HI
Great Egret ______ SP,FW HI
Grey Heron ______ SP,FW HI
Purple Heron (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Striated Heron ______ SP HI
Pacific (or Eastern) Reef Heron ______ SP,FW HI
Crested Honey Buzzard ______ SP HIo
Black (-eared) Kite ______ SP,FW HI
White-tailed (Sea) Eagle (nt) ______ FW
Steller’s Sea Eagle (t3) ______ FW

The Steller's Sea-Eagle is in Japan only in the winter,
having come from Siberia.
Nearly all of them winter in Hokkaido, but one has been
in recent years during that season in Honshu by Lake Biwa.
We've seen that south-of-range loner during our tours.
Northern (or Hen) Harrier ______ SP,FW HI
Eastern Marsh Harrier ______ SP,FW HI
Northern Goshawk ______ SP,FW
Eurasian Sparrowhawk ______ SP,FW HI
Japanese Sparrowhawk ______ SP HIo
Grey-faced Buzzard ______ SP HI
Common Buzzard ______ SP,FW
Roughleg (has been called Rough-legged Buzzard or Rough-legged Hawk) ______ FW
Mountain Hawk-Eagle ______ FW
Osprey ______ SP,FW HI
Common Kestrel ______ SP,FW
Merlin ______ FW
Eurasian Hobby ______ SP,FW HI
Peregrine Falcon ______ SP,FW HI
Gyrfalcon ______ FW (po)
Ruddy-breasted Crake ______ SP,FW HI
Common Moorhen ______ SP,FW HI
Eurasian Coot ______ SP,FW HI
Eurasian Oystercatcher (JPr) ______ SP
Black-winged Stilt ______ FW,SP

2 Black-winged Stilts photographed during a FONT Japan tour in the spring
Long-billed Plover (nt) ______ FW,SP
Little Ringed Plover ______ FW,SP HI
Common Ringed Plover (JPrw) ______ FW,SP HI
Kentish Plover ______ FW,SP
Lesser Sand Plover (has been called Mongolian Plover) ______ SP HI

An attractive Lesser Sand Plover
Pacific Golden Plover ______ SP HI
Grey (or Black-bellied) Plover ______ SP,FW
Gray-headed Lapwing (nt) ______ SP,FW
Northern Lapwing ______ FW
Great Knot ______ SP
Red Knot _______ SP HI
Red-necked Stint (JPrw) ______ SP,FW HI
Long-toed Stint ______ SP HIo

A Long-toed Stint in the Spring
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper ______ SP
Curlew Sandpiper ______ SP
Dunlin ______ SP,FW
Broad-billed Sandpiper ______ SP
Sanderling ______ SP,FW (p) p2 HI
Ruddy Turnstone _______ SP HI
Common Snipe ______ SP,FW HI
Latham’s (or Japanese) Snipe ______ SP HIo
Solitary Snipe ______ FW
Jack Snipe (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Common Redshank (JPr) ______ SP
Spotted Redshank ______ SP
Common Greenshank ______ SP,FW HI
Green Sandpiper ______ SP HI
Wood Sandpiper ______ SP HIo
Grey-tailed (or Polynesian) Tattler ______ SP HI
Terek Sandpiper ______ SP HI
Common Sandpiper ______ SP,FW HI
Bar-tailed Godwit ______ SP
Black-tailed Godwit ______ SP HIo

Bar-tailed Godwits photographed during a FONT Japan Tour
in the Spring on Honshu
(photo by Paul West)
Eurasian Curlew ______ SP,FW
Eastern Curlew (nt) ______ SP
“Eurasian” Whimbrel ______ SP HI
Red-necked Phalarope ______ SP,FW (po) p1,2 HI
Red (or Grey) Phalarope ______ SP (po) p1,2
Pomarine Skua (or Pomarine Jaeger) ______ SP,FW (po) p1
Parasitic Jaeger (or Arctic Skua) ______ SP (po) p 2
South Polar Skua ______ SP (po) p1

The South Polar Skua is among the
many pelagic species seen during our
spring tours, when we're on the ferry
offshore from northern Honshu.
Common Black-headed Gull ______ SP,FW (p) p1 HI
Black-tailed (or Japanese) Gull (JPneb) ______ SP,FW (p) p1,2 HI

Black-tailed Gull
(photo by James Scheib)
"Kamchatka" (Mew, or Common) Gull ______ SP,FW (p) p1
Vega (was part of Herring) Gull ______ SP,FW (p) p1 HI
“Mongolian” (Yellow-legged) Gull ______ SP
Thayer’s Gull ______ FW
Slaty-backed Gull ______ SP,FW (p) p1 hi m
Glaucous-winged Gull _____ SP,FW (p) p1 hi m
Glaucous Gull ______ SP,FW (p) p1
Ross’ Gull (JPr) ______ FW

This 1st-winter Ross's Gull, a rarity on Honshu,
was seen in Tokyo during one of our Japan winter tours.
Black-legged Kittiwake ______ SP,FW (p) p1
Common Tern ______ SP (p) p2
Little Tern ______ SP (p) p1
Common Murre (or Guillemot) _____ SP,FW (po) p1

Common Murre - sometimes during FONT winter tours
many murres are seen from the ferry between Honshu & Hokkaido
(photo by Kim Steininger)
Thick-billed Murre (or Brunnich’s Guillemot) ______ FW (po) p1

Thick-billed Murre - another species seen during FONT winter tours
between Honshu & Hokkaido, and offshore from Hokkaido
(photo by Alan Brady)
Spectacled Guillemot ______ FW (po) p1
Pigeon Guillemot ______ FW (po) p1
Long-billed Murrelet ______ FW (po) p1
Ancient Murrelet ______ SP,FW (p) p1
Japanese Murrelet (t3) (JPe) ______ SP (p) p2
Crested Auklet ______ SP,FW (po) p1
Least Auklet ______ FW (po) p1
Rhinoceros Auklet ______ SP,FW (po) p1,2
Tufted Puffin (JPr) ______ FW (po) p1
Horned Puffin (JPr) ______ SP (po) p1
Common (or Feral) Pigeon (JPi) ______ SP,FW HI
Oriental Turtle Dove ______ SP,FW (p) p1 HI
White-bellied Green Pigeon (nt) ______ SP
Japanese (or Black) Wood Pigeon (nt) (JPneb) ______ SP HIo
Rose-ringed Parakeet (JPi) ______ SP
Common Cuckoo ______ SP HI
Oriental Cuckoo ______ SP HI
Lesser Cuckoo ______ SP HI
Rufous (formerly Horfield’s/Hodgson’s) Hawk-Cuckoo ______ SP
Japanese Scops Owl (formerly part of Collared Scops Owl) ______ SP HIo
Brown (or Oriental) Hawk-Owl ______ SP HI
Ural Owl ______ FW
Short-eared Owl ______ FW (p) p1
Grey Nightjar ______ SP HI

A Grey Nightjar sleeping by day on a fence on Hegura Island,
seen during our tour there in May 2006
Fork-tailed Swift ______ SP (p) p2 HI
Oriental Dollarbird ______ SP HIo

The Oriental Dollarbird has been seen during FONT tours
in the spring on Hegura Island.
Ruddy Kingfisher ______ SP HIo
Black-capped Kingfisher (JPr) ______ SP HIo

The Black-capped Kingfisher, a rarity in Japan, has been seen
during FONT tours in the spring on Hegura Island
Common Kingfisher ______ SP,FW HI

The Common Kingfisher is a brilliant jewel.
(photo by Paul West)
Crested Kingfisher ______ SP,FW
Eurasian Hoopoe (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Japanese Green Woodpecker (JPe) ______ SP,FW
Great Spotted Woodpecker ______ SP,FW
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker ______ SP,FW

A Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker photographed
during a FONT tour.
(photo by Paul West)
Greater Short-toed Lark (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Eurasian Skylark (subspecies japonica) ______ SP,FW
(subspecies pekinensis) (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Barn Swallow ______ SP,FW HI
Sand Martin (or Bank Swallow) ______ SP HI
Red-rumped Swallow ______ SP HI
Asian House Martin ______ SP
Richard’s Pipit (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Olive-backed Pipit ______ SP,FW HI
Tree Pipit (JPr) ______ SP HIo
“Siberian” Buff-bellied Pipit (was part of Water Pipit) ______ SP,FW HI
Eastern Yellow Wagtail (subspecies simillima) (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Grey Wagtail ______ SP,FW HI
White Wagtail (subspecies lugens: was Black-backed Wagtail ______ SP,FW HI
(subspecies ocularis) (JPr) SP HIo
Japanese Wagtail (JPe) ______ SP,FW
Brown-eared Bulbul (JPneb) ______ SP,FW HI
Ashy Minivet ______ SP HI
Japanese Waxwing (nt) ______ SP
Bohemian Waxwing ______ SP
Brown (or Pallas’) Dipper ______ SP,FW
Northern (or Winter) Wren ______ SP,FW
Japanese Accentor (JPe) ______ FW
Japanese Robin (JPneb) ______ SP HI
Rufous-tailed (or Swinhoe’s) Robin (JPr) ______ SP HIo

The Rufous-tailed (or Swinhoe's) Robin is a rarity
in Japan, but we've seen it a number of times
on Hegura Island in the spring.
Siberian Blue Robin ______ SP HI
Siberian Rubythroat ______ SP HIo
Bluethroat (JPr) ______ SP HIo

The Bluethroat was one of the migrants seen on
Hegura Island during the FONT Japan spring tour
in 2007.
Daurian Redstart ______ SP,FW HI
Red-flanked Bluetail (or Siberian Bluechat or Orange-flanked Bush-Robin) ______ SP,FW HI

The Red-flanked Bluetail occurs throughout Honshu
in the winter.
Desert Wheatear (JPr) ______ FW

This Desert Wheatear was seen in Tokyo during
one of the FONT Japan winter tours.
The species is a rarity in Japan.
Pied Wheatear (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Isabelline Wheatear (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Eurasian Stone Chat ______ SP HI
Black Redstart (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Blue Rock Thrush (red-bellied form) ______ SP,FW HI
White-throated Rock Thrush (JPr) ______ SP HIo

Very much a rarity in Japan, this White-throated Rock Thrush
was found on Hegura Island during a FONT tour in May 2005.
White’s (Ground) Thrush ______ SP,FW HI
Siberian Thrush ______ SP HI

A male Siberian Thrush
Brown-headed Thrush (JPneb) ______ SP,FW HI
Pale Thrush ______ SP,FW HI
Eye-browed (or Grey-headed) Thrush ______ SP HIo
Dusky Thrush (JPrs) ______ SP,FW HI

A Dusky Thrush photographed during a FONT tour
(photo by Paul West)
Naumann’s Thrush (was conspecific with Dusky Thrush) ______ SP,FW HI

A Naumann's Thrush on Hegura Island in May 2007.
Japanese (Grey) Thrush ______ SP HI
Asian Stubtail (was Short-tailed Bush Warbler) ______ SP HI
Japanese Bush Warbler ______ SP,FW HI
Zitting Cisticola (was called Fan-tailed Warbler) ______ SP HI
Gray’s Grsshopper Warbler ______ SP HIo
Marsh Grassbird (or Japanese Marsh Warbler) (t3) ______ SP
Black-browed (or Schenk’s) Reed Warbler ______ SP HIo
Oriental Reed Warbler ______ SP HI
Eastern Crowned Warbler ______ SP HI
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler (formerly part of Pale-legged Leaf Warbler) ______ SP HI
Dusky Warbler (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Radde’s Warbler (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Arctic Warbler (subspecies borealis) ______ SP,FW HI
Yellow-browed Warbler (JPr) ______ SP HIo

A Yellow-browed Warbler
Goldcrest ______ SP,FW
Blue-and-white Flycatcher ______ SP HI
Asian Brown Flycatcher ______ SP HI
Dark-sided (was Siberian) Flycatcher ______ SP HI
Grey-streaked Flycatcher ______ SP HIo
Mugimaki Flycatcher (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Taiga (was part of Red-breasted) Flycatcher (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Narcissus Flycatcher (JPneb) ______ SP HI
Yellow-rumped (or Tricolored) Flycatcher (JPr) ______ SP HIo

A Yellow-rumped (or Tricolored) Flycatcher
on Hegura Island in May 2007.
A rarity in Japan, this species normally occurs
on mainland Asia.
Japanese Paradise Flycatcher ______ SP HIo
Long-tailed Bushtit ______ SP,FW
Willow Tit ______ SP,FW
Varied Tit (JPneb) ______ SP,FW HI
Coal Tit ______ SP,FW HI
Great Tit ______ SP,FW
Eurasian Nuthatch ______ SP,FW
Eurasian Treecreeper ______ FW
Japanese White-eye ______ SP,FW HI
Bull-headed Shrike ______ SP,FW HI
Brown Shrike ______ SP HIo
Tiger (or Thick-billed) Shrike ______ SP HIo
Eurasian Jay ______ SP,FW
Azure-winged Magpie ______ SP,FW
Spotted Nutcracker ______ SP
Daurian Jackdaw ______ FW
Rook ______ SP,FW HI
Carrion Crow ______ SP,FW HI
Large-billed Crow ______ SP, FW HI
Chestnut-cheeked Starling (or Violet-backed Starling, or Myna) (nt) (JPeb) ______ SP HI
White-cheeked (or Grey) Starling ______ SP,FW HI
Daurian (or Purple-backed) Starling (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Crested Myna (JPi) ______ FW
Black Drongo (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Black-naped Oriole (JPr) ______ SP HIo

A Black-naped Oriole during the FONT tour
on Hegura Island in May 2007.
This species, common on mainland Asia, is rare in Japan.
Eurasian Tree Sparrow ______ SP,FW
Russet (or Cinnamon) Sparrow ______ SP HIo
Brambling ______ SP,FW HI

A female Brambling photographed during a
FONT tour in Japan.
(photo by Paul West)
Grey-capped Greenfinch ______ SP,FW HI
Eurasian Siskin ______ SP,FW HI

A male Eurasian Siskin photographed during a
FONT tour in Japan.
(photo by Paul West)
Red Crossbill ______ FW
Asian Rosy Finch ______ SP,FW HI
Long-tailed Rosefinch ______ SP,FW HI
Pallas’ Rosefinch (JPr) ______ SP FW

The Pallas' Rosefinch has been seen during FONT tours
in Japan in the winter
Eurasian Bullfinch ______ SP,FW HI
Japanese Grosbeak ______ SP,FW HI
Yellow-billed (or Chinese) Grosbeak (JPr) ______ SP HIo

Yellow-billed (or Chinese) Grosbeaks have been seen
during FONT tours in the spring on Hegura Island
Hawfinch ______ SP,FW HI
Grey Bunting (JPneb) ______ SP,FW HI
Black-faced Bunting ______ SP,FW HI
Japanese Yellow Bunting (t3) (JPeb) ______ SP HI
Meadow Bunting ______ SP,FW HI
Yellow-breasted Bunting ______ SP HIo
Chestnut Bunting (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Chestnut-eared (or Grey-headed) Bunting ______ SP HIo
Rustic Bunting ______ SP,FW HI
Yellow-throated Bunting ______ SP HIo
Yellow-browed Bunting (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Little Bunting (JPr) ______ SP HIo
Tristram’s Bunting (JPr) ______ SP HIo

Tristram's Buntings occur most commonly on the mainland of Asia,
but they've been seen during FONT tours in the spring on Hegura Island, Japan
Common Reed Bunting ______ SP,FW HI
Japanese Reed Bunting (nt) ______ SP,FW