Common Birds of Japan

Japan's most iconic bird — pairs perform their legendary dancing displays on snow-covered meadows at Akan in January, a sight celebrated in Japanese art for centuries.

The world's largest owl — weighing up to 4.6 kg, it hunts salmon at night by wading in shallow rivers; a handful of Hokkaido lodges have permanent hides at known hunting spots.

Endemic to Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu — a handsome woodpecker with green back and red crown, yaffling loudly from open woodland edges.

A Japanese endemic with a 1.5 m tail — the male's rich copper plumage glows in dawn forest light; found in montane forest throughout Honshu and Kyushu.

More richly colored than the Bohemian Waxwing, with a red-tipped tail instead of yellow — arrives in Japan in winter to strip berries from rowans and hawthorns.

While numerous Ryukyu endemic kingfishers survive, the Miyako Kingfisher is the cautionary tale — Okinawa island supports the brilliant Ryukyu Blue Robin among other island endemics.

Often described as the world's most beautiful duck — wild birds nest in Japanese forest streams, with spectacular winter concentrations at parks in Tokyo.

A secretive, crepuscular heron that breeds in Japan and migrates south — rarely seen except by specialist night-birding sessions near forested wetland areas.