Japan is home to many beautiful birds. Some of these Japanese birds are very rare, you’ll barely find them, except in Japan. If you are interested in knowing about these creatures, then you have stumbled upon the right place. In this article, we have prepared a list of ten such Japanese birds. So, here we go.
Japanese birds
1. Chestnut-winged Cuckoo
The red-winged crested cuckoo (Clamator coromandus), sometimes known as the chestnut-winged cuckoo, can be found in Southeast Asia and some regions of South Asia. It has black upper parts with glossy finishes, a long graduated glossy tail, a rufous neck, a dusky underside, and a narrow white nuchal half collar. Its head has a tall crest and chestnut wings. They move south during the winter to Sri Lanka, southern India, and tropical Southeast Asia, including portions of Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. They reproduce along the Himalayas. Its length is roughly 47 cm.
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Image Source: Wikimedia
2. Himalayan Cuckoo
A cuckoo species in the genus Cuculus is the Himalayan cuckoo (Cuculus saturatus). It reproduces from the Himalayas eastward to Taiwan and southern China. For the winter, it moves to Southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands. Previously known as the “Oriental cuckoo,” it has a number of subspecies that can be found over most of Asia. Nowadays, these are typically recognized as separate species. The Himalayan cuckoo, if it is thought of as a species, has the name saturatus since the type specimen of the previous “Oriental” cuckoo is a bird from that population.
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Image Source:Hiyashi Haka
3. Lesser Cuckoo
A species of cuckoo found in the family of Cuculidae is the smaller cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus). The bird is known as hototogisu in Japan and is widely acclaimed for its song. This species, like many others, is most frequently identified by its song, a brief phrase of disjointed notes that is commonly compared to “eat-your-choKY-pepper!” with the last half being noticeably louder than the former.
The majority of adults have grey skin, white underparts with black bars, and dark eyes. Some females have a bright rufous color on top and dark bars across their wings and back. The Juvenile has a brownish upper body and frequently has a thin white border around the wing feathers. Compared to other similar cuckoos, it is often smaller but also more compact and stumpy in appearance. sings and hunts in the lowland and foothill woods’ canopy.
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Image Source: pseudoapiz
4. Black Woodpecker
The northern Palearctic is home to the giant black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius), which inhabits mature woodlands. It is the only member of its genus present there. Its territory is increasing. The black woodpecker is one of the largest species in the world and is without a doubt the largest species of woodpecker in both Europe and the region of Asia where it resides. This non-migratory species dig a sizable tree hole to live in and prefer old-growth forests or big forest stands as its habitat. In return, a number of species rely on black woodpeckers to live in the holes they make in trees on a secondary basis.
Image Source: Wikimedia
5. White-bellied Woodpecker
The great black woodpecker (Dryocopus javensis), also known as the white-bellied woodpecker, lives in tropical Asia’s evergreen forests, including those in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. It belongs to a complex with the Andaman woodpecker (Dryocopus hodgei), which has 14 subspecies (earlier treated as a subspecies).
One of the beautiful Japanese birds is both an endangered and extinct species of its island variants exist. The amount and distribution of white vary among populations. They are among the biggest Asiatic woodpeckers, building their nests in enormous dead trees, frequently next to rivers. Compared to the smaller woodpeckers, their drums and calls are louder.
6. Grey-headed Woodpecker
Picus canus, sometimes referred to as the grey-faced woodpecker, is a Eurasian member of the Picidae family of woodpeckers. It is one of three closely related sibling species found in Europe, together with the more typical European green woodpecker and the Iberian green woodpecker. Its range encompasses a sizable portion of the Eastern and Central Palaearctic, all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
In terms of habitat, the grey-headed woodpecker is pickier than the European green woodpecker. It favors deciduous forests with a lot of dead trees, and it largely eats ants, though it isn’t completely reliant on them like the green woodpecker is. The nest of the grey-headed woodpecker is generally dug into dead or seriously damaged trees.
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Image Source: Wikimedia
7. Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker
The Eurasian three-toed woodpecker is just marginally smaller than the great spotted woodpecker in size, measuring 21–22 cm (8.3–8.7 in). With the exception of the male’s yellow crown, the adult has black and white plumage. There are no red feathers in either sex. It has white from the throat to the belly, black bands on the flanks, black wings, and a rump.
The tail is black with the outer white feathers barred with black, while the back is white with black bars. Both boys’ and girls’ juveniles feature yellow crowns. The Eurasian three-toed woodpecker’s vocal call is a kik or chik. Coniferous forests in the Palearctic region, from Norway to Korea, serve as the breeding environment.
Image Source: Wikimedia
8. Collared Scops-Owl
The collared scops owl (Otus lettia) is an owl that breeds year-round in south Asia, from the Himalayas in the east to south China and Taiwan, and from northern Pakistan, northern India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Some of the bird’s winter in India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia is part of their limited migratory range. This species was once believed to be a part of the Indian scops owl, which is now a distinct species (Otus bakkamoena).
This species belongs to the wider family of owls known as typical owls, or Strigidae, which includes the majority of owl species. The other subgroup is the Tytonidae family of barn owls. The collared scops owl breeds frequently in woodlands and other heavily forested places. It nests in tree hollows and produces 3–5 eggs.
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9. Short-eared Owl
A medium-sized owl, the short-eared owl is 34-43 cm (13-17 in) long and weighs 206-475 g. (7.3–16.8 oz). It has broad wings, a huge head, large eyes, and a short neck. It has a small, powerful, hooked, and black bill. Its wings and tail have bars, and its plumage is mottled tawny to brown. It is also listed as one of the types of owls in Southern California.
Significant streaking is present on the upper breast. Its wingbeats are erratic, which gives it a floppy flight. The short-eared owl’s flying has been compared to that of a “moth or bat.” The wingspan is between 85 and 110 cm (33 to 43 in). Males are a little bit bigger than females. Black rings around each eye magnify the yellow-orange eyes, creating the impression that mascara is being worn.
10. Blue-tailed Bee-Eater
Like other bee-eaters, this species is a slender, highly-colored bird. Its main color is green, and its face features a small blue patch, black eye stripes, a yellow and brown throat, a blue tail, and a black beak. Around their bases, the three outer toes are joined. Including the two extended central tail feathers, which may measure only two inches longer than the other ten feathers, it can grow to a length of 23–26 cm.
The blue-cheeked bee-eater, which is only slightly confusing since it prefers drier environments, is the only species in its range. The rump and tail of the blue-tailed differ from the green and black ones in that they are blue. The blue-cheeked one has BLUE under tail feathers as opposed to green ones.
11. Oriental turtle dove
The Oriental turtle dove is one of the most popular Japanese birds that belong to the bird family Columbidae. The bird species are mostly seen across the regions of Europe, east across Asia to Japan. The population is, mostly seen at higher altitudes, however, during the winter season, they migrate south in winter, while those closer to the tropics are sedentary. The habitat of the bird species varies and is mostly seen in open habitats and winters in more open habitats but usually with good tree cover. The dietary habit is granivorous in nature and mostly feeds on hemp, sunflower, wheat, millet, and amaranth.
12. Japanese pygmy woodpecker
The Japanese pygmy woodpecker also known as pygmy woodpecker is a woodpecker species mostly seen in the coniferous and deciduous forests in Russia, China, Korea, and Japan. The bird species occurs at an elevation of 2,100 m (6,900 ft) and prefers lowland, upland, and riverine forests, and also parks and gardens. It occurs in pairs to search for invertebrates, such as spiders, caterpillars, ants and aphids, and berries.
13. Japanese bush warbler
The Japanese bush warbler also known as uguisu in Japanese is an Asian passerine bird that is mostly heard than is really visible in the sky. The breeding song can be heard throughout much of Japan from the start of spring. The appearance is olive-brown above and tends toward dusky colors below. The eyebrows are pale and have a beak that curves up making it look like it is smiling. The body length of bird species is upto 15.5 centimeters (6.1 in) in length. The average life span of a Japanese bush warbler is between two to five years.
14. Blakiston’s fish owl
The Blakiston’s fish owl is the largest living species of owl which is a sub-group of eagle owls that specialize in hunting in riparian areas. The bird species is native to China, Japan, and Russian Far East. The body length of Blakiston’s fish owl is between 60 to 72 cm and the average weight is between 2.9 to 4.6 kilograms. The avarage lifespan of Blakiston’s fish owl is upto 20 years in the wild. The dietary habits are carnivores in nature and feed on pike, catfish, trout, and salmon. During the winter season, it feeds on rodents, martens, hares, rabbits, foxes, cats, and even small dogs.
Image Source: Wikimedia
15. White-bellied green pigeon
The white-bellied green pigeon is also one of the popular Japanese birds that belong to the family Columbidae. They are mostly seen in China, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, India, and Vietnam and prefer temperate forests to thrive. The pigeon species is known for its unique habit of drinking saltwater and they do it in mostly 2in Japan is Terugasaki in Ōiso in Kanagawa Prefecture. The primary diet includes fruits, nuts, and/or seeds.
Image Source: Wikimedia
16. Brown-eared Bulbul
The brown-eared bulbul is mediums sized bulbul species native to eastern Asia. They are most common in regions of southern Sakhalin to the northern Philippines. The bird species can reach upto 28 cm (11 in) in length and comes with brown cheeks (the “brown ears” of the common name) and a long tail. They prefer to thrive in forested areas and can adapt to urban and rural environments, and their noisy squeaking calls are a familiar sound in most areas of Japan. During the summer season, they primarily feed on insects and during the winter season, feed on the nectar from Camellia flowers, becoming dusted with yellow pollen in the process. It is one of the most popular Japanese birds in the world.
These are the 16 types of Japanese birds in the world. Kindly share and do post your comments.
