Dr.BIRD's Weblog

Identification of Chestnut-eared Bunting (Grey-headed Bunting) and Little Bunting.

My birding buddy Dr.OGAWA found a bunting that might be Chestnut-eared Bunting at the riverbank but when he came back and reconsider, it seems Little Bunting. Little Bunting is very rare in Japan!

So he sent me a e-mail with some photos and called me to discuss. My first impression of this bird was "exactly CE Bunting". I feel odd however, because it has clear lateral-crown stripe and median crown stripe which cannot be visible in Chestnut-eared Bunting. My pal said that is why he thought Little Bunting. It's true, but I noticed that no black line on the cheek like Little Bunting. I saw many photos of Little Bunting, there are black line on the cheek with no exceptions.

Continue reading "Little Chestnut-eared Bunting" »

The last weekend, I skipped the lecture of the University again and helped banding in Tone-river of Ibaraki Prefecture. That place is important because Japanese Swamp Warblers which are very valuable and worldwide rare species is breeding.

The study area view.

Continue reading "Japanese Swamp" »

I skipped chemistry lecture of the university and went out to banding on Friday. We started at 9:00 and ended at 14:00 but all we caught was only two birds.

Grey Bunting
Emberiza variabilis

I have heard that unknown why but large-bodied type and small-bodied type populations exist in this species. This is small one.

Hawfinch
Coccothraustes coccothraustes

Collect blood for DNA analysis.
I was bitten by him.....I'm going to get you!

I went to the Gyotoku Sanctuary (in Tokyo), in order to do banding nestlings of cormorant today.

There are about 1700 nests and therefore Gyotoku is one of the largest cormorant's colony in Japan. Cormorant's nestlings were cute and downy touch but I think they are photograph badly....It's like dinosaur, isn't it?

Great Cormorant's eggs and nestling.
Phalacrocorax carbo

Far Eastern Curlew
Numenius madagascariensis
I am a Japanese birder and an undergraduate studying life science(a kind of molecular biology) at the Rikkyo University in Tokyo.
I'll post about common birds(in Japan) in broken English at rare intervals.
Thank you.

Okay, let me start.
I went to Shigenobu River in Ehime prefecture on Sunday.
The river was under construction however, Far Eastern Curlew was there. I think it's very rare because I watched it at middle course of the river (Usually Curlews are observed at a river mouth, you know?).
Anyway, it was so cold. God, it's already springtime!