Birds found during 
FONT Birding & Nature Tours

on the Japanese island 
of Okinawa

1996 thru 2007

(noting months when found)

A list compiled by Armas Hill

PHOTO AT RIGHT: An OKINAWA RAIL,
a species not known to science until 1982.

 
135 species of birds have been found during FONT tours in Okinawa & pelagically in nearby waters.


Codes:

(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

(OKr): rare on Okinawa

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

(OKe): Okinawa endemic 

(JPi):  introduced species in Japan

(p): seen pelagically, from the offshore ferry north from Okinawa to & between the other Ryukyu Islands of Yoronoto, Okinoerabujima, & Tokunoshima  (islands south to north)
(po): pelagic only

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.    

In the following list, months when the birds have been seen are indicated


Links:

Upcoming Japan Tour Itineraries

Cumulative List of Birds found during FONT Tours in Japan

List of Mammals found during FONT Tours in Japan


Home


Birds: 

Bulwer's Petrel ______  may  (po)    

Streaked Shearwater ______  may  (po)                                            
 
Short-tailed Shearwater ______  may  (po)

Sooty Shearwater ______  may  (po)

Swinhoe's Storm Petrel ______  may  (po)

Little Grebe  ______  jan,feb

Brown Booby ______  may  (po)

            Japanese (or Temminck’s) Cormorant  ______  jan,feb (p)

            Black-crowned Night Heron  ______  jan,may,nov

            “Eastern” Cattle Egret  ______  jan,feb,may

            Little Egret  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Yellow-billed (or Intermediate) Egret  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Great Egret  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Grey Heron  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Striated Heron  ______  feb,may,nov

            Pacific (or Eastern) Reef Heron  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Cinnamon (or Chestnut) Bittern  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Yellow (or Chinese Little) Bittern ______  nov

            Eurasian Spoonbill (JPr)  ______  feb,nov

            Black-faced Spoonbill (t2) (JPr)  ______  jan,feb,nov

            Mandarin Duck (nt)  ______  nov

            Eurasian Teal  ______  jan,feb,nov

            Gadwall  ______  jan

            Mallard  ______  jan,feb

            Eastern Spot-billed Duck  ______  may,nov

            Northern Pintail   ______  jan,feb,may

            Northern Shoveler   ______  feb,nov

            Common Pochard   ______  jan

            Tufted Duck  ______  jan

            Black (-eared) Kite  ______  jan

            Osprey  ______  jan,feb,may

            Northern Goshawk  ______  jan

            Eurasian Sparrowhawk  ______  jan

            Japanese Sparrowhawk   ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Grey-faced Buzzard  ______  jan,feb,nov

            Common Kestrel  ______  jan,feb,nov

            Peregrine Falcon  ______  jan,feb,nov

            Okinawa Rail (t2) (JPe) ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Ruddy-breasted Crake  ______  jan,may

            Baillon’s Crake  ______  jan

            White-breasted Waterhen ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Common Moorhen  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Greater Painted Snipe ______  jan,feb,may

            Pheasant-tailed Jacana (JPr) ______  nov

            Black-winged Stilt  ______  jan,may

            Pied Avocet (JPr)  ______  jan

            Little Ringed Plover  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Kentish Plover  ______  jan,feb

            Lesser Sand Plover  ______  jan,feb  (has been called Mongolian Plover)        

Pacific Golden Plover ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Grey (or Black-bellied) Plover ______  jan,feb

            Grey-headed Lapwing (nt)  ______  feb

            Northern Lapwing  ______  jan

            Red-necked Stint  ______  jan,feb

            Temminck’s Stint  ______  feb

            Long-toed Stint  ______  jan,feb

            Ruff / Reeve  ______  jan,nov

            Dunlin  ______  jan,feb

            Ruddy Turnstone  ______  jan,feb.may

            Eurasian Woodcock   ______  jan,nov

            Amami Woodcock (t3) (JPe)   ______  jan,feb,nov

            Common Snipe  ______  jan,feb,nov

            Pintail Snipe (JPr)  ______  jan,feb,nov

            Swinhoe’s Snipe (JPr)  ______  jan,feb,nov     

            Spotted Redshank (JPrw)  ______  jan

            Common Redshank (JPr)  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Common Greenshank  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Marsh Sandpiper  ______  jan,may,nov

            Green Sandpiper  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Wood Sandpiper  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Terek Sandpiper ______  may

            Grey-tailed (or Polynesian) Tattler ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Common Sandpiper  ______  jan,feb,may

            Black-tailed Godwit  ______  may

            Bar-tailed Godwit  ______  jan,feb,may

            Eurasian Curlew  ______  jan,feb

            Eastern Curlew (nt)  ______  jan,feb  (has been called Far Eastern Curlew)

"Eurasian” Whimbrel  ______  jan,may,nov

             Saunder’s Gull (t2) (JPr)  ______  jan,feb,nov

             Common Black-headed Gull ______  jan,feb

             Black-tailed (or Japanese) Gull (JPneb)  ______  jan,feb

             Gull-billed Tern (JPr)  ______  nov

             Black-naped Tern  ______  may

             Roseate Tern (nt)  ______  may

 Little Tern ______  may

             Whiskered Tern (JPr) ______  jan,nov

             Common (or Feral) Pigeon (JPi) ______  jan,feb,may,nov

             Oriental Turtle Dove  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

             Whistling Green Pigeon (nt)  ______  jan,feb,may

             Japanese (or Black) Wood Pigeon (nt) (J:neb)  ______  jan,feb,may,nov          

             Lesser Cuckoo  ______  may

 Japanese Scops-Owl  ______  jan    (was part of Collared Scops-Owl)

             Oriental Scops-Owl  ______  may

             Ryukyu Scops-Owl (JPneb)   ______  jan,feb,may,nov

             Brown (or Oriental) Hawk-Owl ______  jan,may,nov

             White-throated (or Northern) Needletail   ______  may

             Fork-tailed Swift   ______  may    

             Ruddy Kingfisher ______  may

             Common Kingfisher  ______  jan,feb,may

             Okinawa (or Pryer’s) Woodpecker (t1) (JPe) ______  jan,feb,may,nov

             Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker ______  jan,feb,may,nov

             Barn Swallow   ______  jan,feb,may

             Pacific Swallow  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

             Asian House Martin ______  jan,feb

             “Siberian” Buff-bellied Pipit ______  jan  (was part of Water Pipit)

Grey Wagtail  ______  jan,feb,nov

White Wagtail
          (subspecies lugens: was Black-backed W.) ______ jan,feb,nov
          (subspecies leucopsis)   ______  feb

            Japanese Wagtail (JPe) (OKr)  ______  jan

            Brown-eared Bulbul (J:neb)  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Light-vented Bulbul ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Ryukyu Minivet (JPe) ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Ryukyu Robin (nt) (JPe)  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Daurian Redstart   ______  jan,feb,nov

Red-flanked Bluetail  ______ jan  (also called Siberian Bluechat, or Orange-flanked Bush-Robin) 

            Blue Rock Thrush (red-bellied form)  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Brown-headed Thrush (JPneb)   ______  jan

            Pale Thrush   ______  jan,feb,nov

            Dusky Thrush   ______  jan,feb,nov

            Japanese Bush Warbler  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

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

Ryukyu Flycatcher (t2) (JAe)  ______  jan,feb (has been part of Narcissus Flycatcher, resident in Nansei Shoto)

            Japanese Paradise Flycatcher (nt)  ______  may

            Varied Tit (JPneb)  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Great Tit   ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Japanese White-eye  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Brown Shrike (JPrw)  ______  jan

            Large-billed Crow  ______  jan,feb,may,nov                      

            Common Starling (JPr)  ______  jan,feb

            White-cheeked (or Grey) Starling (OKr)  ______  jan,feb,may

            White-shouldered (or Grey-backed) Starling (JPr)  ______  jan,feb

            Red-billed (or Silky) Starling (nt) (JPr)  ______  feb

            Eurasian Tree Sparrow  ______  jan,feb,may,nov

            Scaly-breasted (or Spotted) Munia (JPi)  ______  jan,feb,may,nov (also called Nutmeg Mannikin)

            Eurasian Siskin ______  jan

            Grey Bunting   ______  feb