Birds in Japan

176 species listed · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024

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.

Birds to see in Japan in September

113 species on our list are recorded regularly this month. These are the ones birdwatchers record most often.

All 113 birds in September

Arriving in September: Eurasian Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Tufted Duck, Northern Shoveler, Vega Gull, Whooper Swan, Black-necked Grebe, Oriental Honey-buzzard and 11 more.

Through the year

Species recorded regularly in Japan each month: most in April (141), fewest in July (89). Choose a month to see its birds.

141113
Show as a table
Goldcrest
GoldcrestSmallest · 8.5cm
to
Whooper Swan
Whooper SwanLargest · 165cm
From the Goldcrest (8.5 cm) to the Whooper Swan (165 cm)49 families

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All 176 birds on the list

Showing 1–23 of 176 species

ResidentRecorded all yearSummer visitorArrives to breed; scarce or absent in winterWinter visitorPresent outside the breeding seasonPassage migrantSeen mainly in spring and autumn migrationScarceRecorded in some years but not every yearCommonAmong the most-recorded birds in its best monthUncommonRecorded regularly, but on a minority of outingsRareFew records, even in its best month
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Passer montanusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Grey Heron

Grey Heron

Ardea cinereaLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

Hirundo rusticaLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Mar–Oct

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Carrion Crow

Carrion Crow

Corvus coroneLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Pied Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Motacilla albaLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rock Dove

Rock Dove

Columba liviaLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Great Cormorant

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carboLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Great White Egret

Great White Egret

Ardea albaLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

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Dusky Thrush

Dusky Thrush

Turdus eunomusLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Oct–May

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Coot

Coot

Fulica atraLC

Winter visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Little Egret

Little Egret

Egretta garzettaLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Mallard

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchosLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Eurasian Teal

Eurasian Teal

Anas creccaLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Sep–May

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Eurasian Wigeon

Eurasian Wigeon

Mareca penelopeLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Sep–Jun

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Little Grebe

Little Grebe

Tachybaptus ruficollisLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Kingfisher

Common Kingfisher

Alcedo atthisLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Blue Rock-thrush

Blue Rock-thrush

Monticola solitariusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Black-tailed Gull

Black-tailed Gull

Larus crassirostrisLC

Summer visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Pochard

Pochard

Aythya ferinaVU

Winter visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Japanese Wagtail

Japanese Wagtail

Motacilla grandisLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucosLC

Winter visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Tufted Duck

Tufted Duck

Aythya fuligulaLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Sep–Jun

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Long-tailed Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Aegithalos caudatusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
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Frequently Asked Questions

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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