| BIRDS
recorded in Japan May - June 2004 |
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Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
Just one rather shy bird, possibly with a nest on a wetland near Kiritappu.
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Laysan Albatross Phoebastria immutabilis
Up to 20 seen from the ferry to Hokkaido, most were seen off the Iwate coast.
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Black-footed Albatross Phoebastria nigripes
Many fewer than the above with only four seen, mostly off the Iwate coast.
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Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis
Two seen from the Hokkaido ferry.
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Streaked Shearwater Calonectris leucomelas
Very common with thousands seen south of the Tsugara Straits.
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Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus
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Short-tailed Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris
Huge rafts were seen especially as we approached Hokkaido, in smaller numbers from the
Rishiri ferry.
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Band-rumped Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma castro
Just a couple seen distantly from the Hokkaido ferry.
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Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma furcata
Ten or twenty were seen off the Aomori coast.
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Japanese Cormorant Phalacrocorax capillatus
Very common at most coastal sites in Hokkaido.
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Pelagic Cormorant Leucocarbo pelagicus
very common on the coast from Furen to Kushiro.
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Little Egret Egretta garzetta
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Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes
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Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
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Cinnamon Bittern Ixobrychus cinnamomeus
Three were seen in rice paddies and igusu rush fields in the picturesque town of
Kijoka on Okinawa.
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Mute Swan Cygnus olor
Six at Utonai-ko, Hokkaido.
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Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus
A few being hand fed at Utonai-ko.
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Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus
One or two with the above at Utonai-ko.
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Bean Goose Anser fabalis
Just one with the swans at Utonai-ko.
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Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata
One of many trip highlights, these gorgeous birds were seen at Kamikochi, where the
female birds in particular seem to have become well habituated; on Rishiri and Akan; and
at Oku Nikko.
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Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope
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Green-winged Teal Anas carolinensis
One was seen at Utonaiko,
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Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Up to 20 were seen at Kamikochi; 20 at Utonaiko;
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Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha
Four or so at Karuizawa; six at Utonaiko;
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Northern Pintail Anas acuta
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Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
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Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula
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Greater Scaup Aythya marila
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Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus
2m 2F on the river at Sounkyo, Daisetsuzan. Up to 12 were observed off the
coast of northern Hokkaido.
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Black Scoter Melanitta nigra
a huge raft of ca 400 birds about 30-40 metres from the shore 15km north
of Furenko. Very vocal.
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Common Merganser Mergus merganser
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Black Kite Milvus migrans
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White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla
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Eastern Marsh-Harrier Circus spilonotus
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Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus
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Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis
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Grey-faced Buzzard Butastur indicus
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Eurasian Kestrel Falco tinnunculus
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Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo
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Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus
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Hazel Grouse Bonasa bonasia
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Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus
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Red-crowned Crane Grus japonensis
a total of 20 birds were seen on the Notsuke Peninsula and at Furenko. One
was seen on a wetland in the Kushiro Marshes. I could see no evidence of
breeding.
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- Okinawa Rail
one fabulously cooperative bird only
20m into the Okuni Rindo (rindo = forest road) in the Yanbaru Forest.
Watched foraging on the road for 20 minutes.
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Water Rail Rallus aquaticus
one observed at length preening in reeds on Shunkunitai, Furenko.
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White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus
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Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus
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Grey-headed Lapwing Vanellus cinereus
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Long-billed Plover Charadrius placidus
a total of 4 on the shallow sandbanks of the Azusagawa River at Kamikochi.
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Latham's Snipe Gallinago hardwickii
large numbers were observed and heard performing their remarkable display
flights especially on the Nemuro Peninsula and in the Kushiro Marshes.
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Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
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Common Redshank Tringa totanus
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Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
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Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus
5-6 very large and mobile flocks passed the ship north of the Tsugara
Straits. I estimate there were up to 2000 individuals in total.
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South Polar Skua Catharacta maccormicki
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Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris
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Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus
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Slaty-backed Gull Larus schistisagus
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Little Tern Sterna albifrons
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Common Murre Uria aalge
not quite as common as the previous species with up to 50 seen.
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Spectacled Guillemot Cepphus carbo
only six were seen off the Ochiishi Cape. This species is considered to be
rapidly declining in Japan.
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Japanese Murrelet Synthliboramphus wumizusume
just one off the coast of Iwate Prefecture
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Rhinoceros Auklet Cerorhinca monocerata
the most common of the alcids.
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Japanese Wood-Pigeon Columba janthina
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Oriental Turtle-Dove Streptopelia orientalis
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White-bellied Pigeon Treron sieboldii
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Whistling Green-Pigeon Treron formosae
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Hodgson's Hawk-Cuckoo Cuculus fugax
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Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus
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Oriental Cuckoo Cuculus saturatus
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Lesser Cuckoo Cuculus poliocephalus
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Ryukyu Scops-Owl Otus elegans
not particularly hard to track down in good forest anywhere on Amami or
Okinawa.
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Blakiston's Fish Owl Ketupa blakistoni
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Brown Hawk-Owl Ninox scutulata
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White-throated Needletail Hirundapus caudacutus
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Fork-tailed Swift Apus pacificus
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Ruddy Kingfisher Halcyon coromanda
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Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla
up to 4 were heard vocalising on Shunkunitai where they seemed to have a
preference for the dead snags (on which they are perfectly camouflaged) in
the marshland.
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Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos kizuki
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Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos minor
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White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos
Two seen very well in the forest at Miike.
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Owston's (White-backed Woodpecker) Dendrocopos leucotos
owstoni
1male 1female on the rindo near Sumiyo Dam, Amami Oshima. This is a very
distinctive subspecies endemic to Amami
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Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major
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Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius
1male and 1female attending a nest in the Hokkaido University Enshuurin
forest near Tomakomai. Many thanks to a photographer I met at Shikotsu who
told me about this site!
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- Japanese Woodpecker Picus awokera
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Grey-faced Woodpecker Picus canus
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Japanese Skylark Alauda japonica
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Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
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Pacific Swallow Hirundo tahitica
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Asian Martin Delichon dasypus
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Black-backed Wagtail Motacilla lugens
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Japanese Wagtail Motacilla grandis
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Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava
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Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
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Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni
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Ashy Minivet Pericrocotus divaricatus
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Ryukyu Minivet Pericrocotus tegimae
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Light-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis
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Brown-eared Bulbul Ixos amaurotis
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Goldcrest Regulus regulus
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Brown Dipper Cinclus pallasii
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Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
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Japanese Accentor Prunella rubida
a
shy but responsive pair on Kurodake, Daisetsuzan.
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Blue Rock-Thrush Monticola solitarius
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Amami Thrush Zoothera major
one flushed off the Super Rindo, Amami.
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Japanese Thrush Turdus cardis
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Brown-headed Thrush Turdus chrysolaus
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Zitting Cisticola Cisticola juncidis
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Asian Stubtail Urosphena squameiceps
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Japanese Bush-Warbler Cettia diphone
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Lanceolated Warbler Locustella lanceolata
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Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler Locustella ochotensis
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Gray's Grasshopper Warbler Locustella fasciolata
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Black-browed Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus bistrigiceps
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Oriental Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus orientalis
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Pale-legged Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus tenellipes
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Eastern Crowned-Warbler Phylloscopus coronatus
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Siberian Flycatcher Muscicapa sibirica
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Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica
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Narcissus Flycatcher Ficedula narcissina
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Blue-and-white Flycatcher Cyanoptila cyanomelana
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Japanese Robin Erithacus akahige
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Ryukyu Robin Erithacus komadori
very common on Amami and Okinawa but especially confiding on the Okuni
Rindo, Okinawa. I found this species to be common in
several areas, seen or heard approx every 50-100m. They were often seen in
pairs and evidence of breeding was quite apparent.
There seems to be a government-sponsored penchant for road building which
may proffer a threat to this species in the future. (That said, the robins
seem to like roadside verges for foraging). Any further construction or
so-called improvement of roads within forests on any of the Ryukyu islands
should be vigorously opposed.
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Siberian Rubythroat Luscinia calliope
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Red-flanked Bush-Robin Tarsiger cyanurus
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Daurian Redstart Phoenicurus auroreus
one was heard and seen on a rooftop in the Sounkyo village, Daisetsuzan.
This appears to constitute one of only a handful of records from Hokkaido
in summer.
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Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maura
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Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone atrocaudata
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Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus
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Marsh Tit Poecile palustris
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Willow Tit Poecile montana
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Varied Tit Sittaparus varius
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Eurasian Nuthatch Sitta europaea
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Eurasian Treecreeper Certhia familiaris
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Japanese White-eye Zosterops japonicus
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Bull-headed Shrike Lanius bucephalus
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Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus
said to be declining in Japan, amazingly only one near Furenko.
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Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius
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Lidth's Jay Garrulus lidthi
I didn’t find these to be especially common or confiding on Amami this
year, only a total of eight were seen. One flock of six in mixed
coniferous forest on the Super Rindo and 1M 1F on the Sumiyo Rindo.
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Eurasian Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes
2 on Kurodake, Daisetsuzan (alt ca 1800m).
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Carrion Crow Corvus corone
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Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos
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Chestnut-cheeked Starling Sturnia philippensis
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White-cheeked Starling Sturnus cineraceus
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Russet Sparrow Passer rutilans
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Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus
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Pine Grosbeak Pinicola enucleator
2 on Kurodake, Daisetsuzan. (alt ca 1800m).
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Eurasian Siskin Carduelis spinus
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Oriental Greenfinch Carduelis sinica
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Eurasian Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula
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Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes
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Japanese Grosbeak Eophona personata
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Long-tailed Rosefinch Uragus sibiricus
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Meadow Bunting Emberiza cioides
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Chestnut-eared Bunting Emberiza fucata
not observed anywhere else but common in grassland at Senjogahara, Oku-Nikko.
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Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola
in the past this was considered a common species in Japan but has recently
become increasingly scarce with only 1M 1F seen in marsh grassland Onnenai,
Kushiro.
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Yellow Bunting Emberiza sulphurata
1M 2F at Karuizawa where it seems to be quite reliable.
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Black-faced Bunting Emberiza spodocephala
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Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus
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