Birds of Japan II

 Large-billed Crow, Ueno Park, Tokyo

Carrion Crow, Miyajima Island near Hiroshima

Wow! The Large-billed Crow is so impressive it is actually a bit scary. We saw both of Japan's crows, the Carrion Crow more than the Large-billed Crow. Much easier to identify than Australian's ravens! The calls are different too. Large-billed Crow: loud clear krroh or kaw; Carrion Crow: loud hoarse kraa.

Wild Bird Wednesday

Birds of Japan I

Northern Pintail - male

Northern Pintail - female

Ueno Park, Tokyo

Just back from a fantastic trip to Japan! It was really a sight-seeing holiday but we managed to see quite a lot of birds.

The blossom bloomed where ever we went too - it was amazing! Easy to see why the Japanese love it so much. You can see it floating on the water in these photos. 

Ueno Park is in the middle of Tokyo, it had such a great atmosphere with everyone enjoying the cherry blossom. We had stormy weather the day after and we overheard someone say that all the blossom was blasted off the trees.

According to the field guide, Northern Pintail is an uncommon visitor to parks. I could only see one pair. The male is in breeding plumage.

Wild Bird Wednesday