Common Birds in Japan
Our list for Japan has 41 common birds recorded regularly there: 22 residents, 4 summer visitors and 15 winter visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · Oct
Share of all bird records in Japan in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 41, most common first
Eurasian SkylarkAlauda arvensisResidentCommon16–18 cmRecorded all year
Grey WagtailMotacilla cinereaResidentCommon17–20 cmRecorded all year
Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatusWinter visitorCommon46–51 cmRecorded all year
Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeataWinter visitorCommon44–51 cmRegularly Sep–Jun
Northern PintailAnas acutaWinter visitorCommon59–76 cmRecorded all year
GadwallMareca streperaWinter visitorCommon46–56 cmRegularly Oct–Jun
CuckooCuculus canorusSummer visitorCommon32–34 cmRegularly May–Jul
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusWinter visitorCommon38–44 cmRegularly Aug–Jun
OspreyPandion haliaetusResidentCommon54–58 cmRecorded all year
Little Ringed PloverThinornis dubiusSummer visitorCommon14–17 cmRecorded all year
Coal TitPeriparus aterResidentCommon10–12 cmRecorded all year
HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustesWinter visitorCommon17–18 cmRegularly Aug–Jun
Black-crowned Night-heronNycticorax nycticoraxResidentCommon58–65 cmRecorded all year
Eurasian JayGarrulus glandariusResidentCommon32–35 cmRecorded all year
Greater ScaupAythya marilaResidentCommon39–56 cmRecorded all year
Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos majorResidentCommon23–26 cmRecorded all year
Red-breasted MerganserMergus serratorWinter visitorCommon52–58 cmRegularly Oct–May
GreenshankTringa nebulariaWinter visitorCommon30–35 cmRegularly Jul–May
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