Field Guide to the Birds of Japan

A comprehensive and fully illustrated field guide to the birds of Japan

The islands of Japan are home to a spectacular and diverse range of birds, from the sea-eagles and giant owls of the north to the endemic rails and woodpeckers of the far south. This book is the perfect guide to all 738 species that occur there.

The authoritative text covers the identification, voice, habitat, behaviour and range of every species and subspecies found across the archipelago, accompanied by accurate distribution maps.

Facing the text are 187 superb plates, covering all major age and subspecies plumage variation.

Birds of Japan – comprehensive, authoritative and perfect for field use. It's an indispensable addition to any visiting birder's backpack.

Mark Brazil is a widely travelled field ornithologist and an experienced writer. He received a doctorate for his studies of the behavioural ecology of the Whooper Swan in Scotland and Iceland. His interest in swans has continued and he spends part of each winter studying them in Hokkaido, where he is currently Professor of Biodiversity and Conservation at Rakuno Gakuen University, Hokkaido. His main research interests have centred around East Asian birds, particularly the Japanese avifauna.

Mark is the author of The Birds of Japan (Helm, 1991), The Whooper Swan (Poyser, 2003), Field Guide to Birds of East Asia (Helm, 2009) and Field Guide to the Birds of Japan (Helm, 2019). He has written research and review papers on a wide range of species and has contributed a regular column on natural history to The Japan Times newspaper continuously since 1982.