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Records 2019–2024 · GBIF

Birds in Japan

Our list for Japan has 176 bird species recorded regularly there: 47 residents, 23 summer visitors, 74 winter visitors, 28 passage migrants and 4 scarce visitors

The list comes from 2.4 million birdwatchers' records from 2019–2024, shared through the eBird Observation Dataset on GBIF. A bird is listed when it was recorded in at least 3 of the 6 years and has a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur here than are listed; the months show when it is recorded most years.

Species on our list
176
In October
132
Common
41
Busiest month
Feb

This month: October

GBIF · Oct

Most likely

  1. Eurasian Tree SparrowEurasian Tree Sparrow3.93%
  2. Pied WagtailPied Wagtail3.63%
  3. Grey HeronGrey Heron3.51%
  4. Carrion CrowCarrion Crow3.18%
  5. Great CormorantGreat Cormorant2.69%
  6. Great White EgretGreat White Egret2.58%

Arriving now

  1. BramblingBramblingWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.27%
  2. Dusky ThrushDusky ThrushWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.22%
  3. GadwallGadwallWinter visitorSep 0.04% → Oct 0.14%
  4. Tundra SwanTundra SwanWinter visitorSep 0.00% → Oct 0.10%
  5. Reed BuntingReed BuntingResidentSep 0.02% → Oct 0.08%
  6. Common GullCommon GullWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.05%

Share of all bird records in Japan in October, 2019–2024. “Arriving now” are the birds whose share rises most from last month. Each month links to that month’s page.

The bird calendar for Japan

Month by month

When each bird is around, through the year. The darker the square, the closer that month is to the bird’s busiest. Filter by summer or winter visitors to see the seasons turn over.

The year in Japan

Records by month
Bird records in Japan by month, 2019–2024
January268,884
February276,639
March212,796
April237,802
May254,600
June154,235
July100,622
August97,972
September129,248
October193,442
November220,152
December254,062

February has the most records (277,000). Records follow birdwatchers as well as birds: a busy month means more people out looking, as well as more birds passing through.

By family

12 of 30
All 30 families in Japan

How common

All 176 birds, A to Z

Show all 176 birds

Questions

3

How many birds are on Birdfact's list for Japan?

176 species, each recorded regularly in Japan (in at least 3 of the 6 years 2019–2024): 47 residents, 23 summer visitors, 74 winter visitors, 28 passage migrants and 4 scarce visitors. The list includes only birds with a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur in Japan, and rarer vagrants are not listed.

What birds can I see in Japan in October?

132 species on our list for Japan are recorded regularly in October. Of these, the most often recorded are Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Grey Heron, Carrion Crow and Great Cormorant.

What are the most common birds in Japan?

Of the birds on our list, the ones birdwatchers record most often in Japan are Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Grey Heron, Barn Swallow, Carrion Crow and Pied Wagtail.

Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made

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