Japanese robin

The Japanese robin is a small passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. This species was formerly named Erithacus akahige, or Komadori. Its range extends from the south of the Kuril and Sakhalin Islands throughout Japan.

Loading map...

Distribution

Region

East Asia

Typical Environment

Breeds in cool, moist broadleaf and mixed forests with dense understory, often along shaded ravines and near streams. Prefers mature woodland with thick ground cover, bamboo or shrub tangles where it forages on the leaf litter. Outside the breeding season it uses lower-elevation forests, thickets, and well-vegetated secondary growth. It occurs from southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands through Hokkaido, Honshu, and other Japanese islands, wintering farther south within East Asia.

Altitude Range

Sea level to 2000 m

Climate Zone

Temperate

Characteristics

Size14–15 cm

Wing Span22–24 cm

Male Weight0.016 kg

Female Weight0.015 kg

Life Expectancy5 years

Ease of Keeping

Beginner friendly: 1/5

Useful to know

Formerly placed in the genus Erithacus, the Japanese robin is now classified as Larvivora. In Japanese it has been called 'komadori,' a name also associated with the closely related Ryukyu robin after taxonomic splits. It breeds from southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands through much of Japan and is celebrated for a clear, fluting song that carries through shaded forests.

Gallery

Japanese robin

Behaviour

Temperament

solitary and territorial

Flight Pattern

short rapid wingbeats

Social Behavior

Typically solitary or in pairs during the breeding season, holding well-defined territories in dense forest. The nest is a cup of moss and leaves placed on or near the ground among roots or low shrubs. Pairs are monogamous for the season, and both adults feed the nestlings.

Migratory Pattern

Seasonal migrant

Song Description

Rich, fluty whistles delivered from shaded perches, often a series of clear, ringing notes that carry far through the forest. Calls include thin, high contact notes and sharper alarms from the understory.

Unlock detailed bird insights with Pro access today.

Identification

Leg Colorpinkish-flesh

Eye Colordark brown

Plumage

Males show a bright orange face, throat, and breast contrasting with olive-brown upperparts and a whitish lower belly; females are duller with more subdued orange and warmer brown tones. Both sexes have fine, neat plumage with a clean, pale belly and slightly grey-tinged flanks. Wings and tail are brown with minimal patterning.

Feeding Habits

Diet

Primarily small invertebrates such as beetles, ants, spiders, and caterpillars gleaned from the forest floor and low vegetation. It also takes flycatching sallies for airborne insects on occasion. In the non-breeding season it supplements the diet with berries and other small fruits.

Preferred Environment

Feeds mostly on the ground in damp, shady woodland with deep leaf litter. Frequently forages along stream banks, root tangles, and dense shrubs where prey is abundant.

Population

Total Known Populationunknown

Japanese sparrowhawk

The Japanese sparrowhawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. It was formerly placed in the genus Accipiter. The bird is known by many alternative names such as the Japanese lesser, Asiatic, or Eastern sparrowhawk. This species is a small raptor with broader and rounder wings and a shorter tail. Its total length measures 23–30 centimetres (9.1–11.8 in). It has a dark back and whitish underside with brown-grey barring and red-brown colouring on the sides in males, and with heavier brown barring on the abdomen in females. Both sexes have a stripe across the throat, but its more obvious in the female. Is it typically identified by its appearance, but occasionally produces a chattering kiki-kik-kik... sound. This species generally breeds in parts of Russia, Korea, Japan, and China. There are three subspecies of Japanese sparrowhawk that differ by distribution and appearance. The species is globally listed as least concern, although it is listed as endangered in Japan and protected in China.

Japanese thrush

The Japanese thrush is a species of bird in the thrush family Turdidae. The species is also known as the grey thrush or the Japanese grey thrush. The species was once split into two subspecies, with birds breeding in China being treated as the subspecies T. c. lateus,, but today differences are attributed to natural variation and the species is treated as being monotypic.

Japanese waxwing

The Japanese waxwing is a fairly small passerine bird in the waxwing family found in the eastern Palaearctic, where it breeds south of the breeding range of the related Bohemian waxwing, but overlaps extensively with it in winter. It feeds mainly on fruit and berries but also eats insects during the summer. The nest is a cup of twigs lined with grass and moss which is built in a tree. In males, the secondary wing feathers have red tips, the resemblance of which to sealing wax gives these birds their common name. It is listed by IUCN as Near Threatened, due to loss and degradation of its preferred forest habitat.