Taiga and Red-breasted Flycatchers wintering in Osaka

I don't think a winter ever passes without at least one Red-breasted Flycatcher in residence in one of the Osaka parks. Big parks, small parks, it doesn't seem to matter. In some years there may be as many as three wintering in different city parks and as I hear reports of birds also wintering in Tokyo parks it begs the question how many are wintering in Japan away from city parks where they're unlikely to be discovered?


This a year a bird chose Oizumi Ryokuchi (the same park as the Grey-backed Thrush last winter), there was simply no way I was going to trek into the southern reaches of Osaka for yet another Red-breasted Fly! When it transformed into a Taiga however, that was a different matter. Both species are scarce autumn migrants in Japan, mainly restricted to the Japan Sea islands; my feeling is that Taiga is the commoner of the two at that time. Both also overwinter in Japan but Red-breasted is definitely more numerous, this Taiga is the first wintering bird I've seen.


Separation of these two scarce flycatchers can be tricky, more so on the islands where observers are less likely to hang around too long waiting for a secretive flycatcher to reappear when there many be many other interesting birds vying for attention. A bird in an Osaka park in winter, on the other hand, doesn't have much competition and good views are guaranteed with a little patience... and photographers' mealworms.


To my eyes most plumage features are open to interpretation, even the diagnostic blacker-than-black uppertail coverts of Taiga. If I see black uppertail coverts which are clearly darker than the tail then all well and good, however, if I don't see blacker coverts can I be sure they are a lighter shade than the tail or is it that I haven't yet seen them well enough, that the angle hasn't been quite right, or that the light is too bright/dim to detect a difference.
Similarly, if the supercilium is obviously brown it must be a Red-breasted, right? I suppose so, and some RBFs do have very warm brown supercilia, others throw in at least a bit of grey and some irds do give a brown-capped impression at times. Is Taiga's supercilium always pure grey throughout? It certainly tends to be that way but I wouldn't stake an ID on head pattern.
The tertial pattern isn't supposed to be diagnostic but I wonder if this might be a one way feature. I've yet to see a Red-breasted with a white edge and terminal spot, 'thorn', on the outer web, they always (the birds I've seen) have a warmer, buffy-brown colouration. Do Taiga sometimes lack a white edge? I don't know, I haven't seen one that lacks this feature but that doesn't mean much considering how few I've seen. Until I learn otherwise this white outer edge and thorn seem a strong indicator to me, and far more easily seen than the uppertail coverts.
So much for plumage.


The bill strikes me as the at-a-glance indicator to species for two reasons. RBF frequently has a paler base to the lower mandible, this is often diffusely very extensive when seen from below. Taiga normally appears completely dark and any pale area there might be will be restricted to a very limited area at the base. The shape of the bill is even more eye-catching. RBF has a comparatively delicate bill in proportion to the head, less deep at the base and with a straighter keel. Thus the curve towards the tip is more prominent on the upper mandible. Taiga has a much deeper-based bill, which isn't in the least delicate, with both mandibles curving towards the tip. It looks more like a bullet stuck on the front of the head.

A typical RBF (Feb 2012). The crown to eyeline is more or less concolourous, the uppertail coverts are most definitely not darker than the tail, the outer webs of the tertials are narrowly edged buffy-brown as is the terminal spot or 'thorn'. The bill has an extensive pale base to the lower mandible and cutting edge of the upper mandible. 

The same individual showing the finer bill.

Another RBF (Jan 2007) with warmer underparts, not all look as obvious as this one. Again, crown to eyeline is uniformly brown and the fine bill is a giveaway.

Taiga (Dec 2018). Those uppertail coverts can't get any blacker than this. The outer webs of the tertials are whitish as are the terminal thorns. Even in this view there is a contrast between the grey supercilium and brown crown. 

The same bird as above. The capped effect produced by the contrast between supercilium and crown is more easily seen here. The white edged tertials are outstanding and the bill enormous.

As above. The bill is far heavier in proportion to the head compared to RBF and those uppertail coverts really are black.

As above. Facing directly into the afternoon sun here and however cold the underparts of Taiga are meant to be there is nevertheless a distinct hint of warmth on the centre breast. There's also a very limited paler area in the base of the lower mandible.

Taiga, Hegurajima (Oct 2015). I'd been watching this bird for a while but as soon as I picked up my camera it was off. Awful as this shot may be I think it's interesting that even partially facing away the bird gives a big-billed impression and also the tertials are white and therefore stand out. Thus I'd say there are features that suggest Taiga when a bird is first glimpsed whereas I'd be more inclined not to have any opinion were it an Red-breasted seen very briefly. 

The holy grail of local photographers is an adult male Red-breasted. It isn't really relevant here as it isn't difficult to identify but it's worth adding a couple of shots because these particular images show to better advantage the difference between uppertail coverts and tail as well as how extensively pale the lower mandible can be.

Adult male RBF (Jan 2016). Setting aside the paler fringes, even the bases of the uppertail coverts are less black than the tail.

As above. With the head tilted slightly away the extent of the pale base of the lower mandible becomes easier to see. In this case you're struggling to find a dark tip rather than a pale base but the point is how extensive the pale area can be without actually appearing obviously so in the field. The following image is of the same bird in profile and the lower mandible looks no paler-based than the previous first winter RBFs above.

As above. The typical finer RBF bill but in profile it's far more difficult to see just how extensive the pale base to the lower mandible is. As I said earlier, wintering birds in parks always give adequate views (because photographers feed them) so identification is never going to be a major issue. Elsewhere, briefly seen birds may have to remain unidentified.

Fortunately there's always the call to put an end to any arguments and all these wintering birds have been quite vocal.

Taiga Flycatcher and Yellow-breasted Bunting

If the Hegura littoral had good birds (they don't get much better than Bearded Tit), so too did the interior woodland. In one area I heard the unmistakable sound of a Taiga Flycatcher. As I moved towards the sound it perched up in front of me. They really aren't normally so easy, and then they tend to disappear in a twinkling; this was how it should be. The bird called again, but still from the original place, it seemed there were two. Or could this one be Red-breasted? Helpfully, this second bird responded, though only once, so there were no concerns about identification; there were indeed two Taiga Flycatchers.


Strange as it may seem, I've yet to see Red-breasted Flycatcher on Hegura though no doubt it must occur. All the birds I've been able to identify so far have been Taiga, though there have been several occasions when views were too brief to make an identification. That ability to disappear in a twinking. Whereas all the wintering birds I've seen in Honshu have been Red-breasted. A clear case of passage migrant and scarce winter visitor, at least in my experience.

Not the best shot I got but it is possible to see a moult contrast here; the innermost four or five greater coverts are longer unfringed adult type whereas the rest are narrowly fringed juvenile feathers. Red-breasted retains juvenile greater coverts through the winter but Taiga, it would seem, moult at least some in autumn. That alone must clinch identification.

Although I identified it by call first, the plumage features are all shown to good advantage in these images I think. The following shot isn't great but it provides an excellent comparison with an over-wintering Red-breasted in Osaka a few years ago.

The Taiga: note the cold grey upperparts contrasting with the warmer brown cap, the tertials and greater coverts are narrowly and evenly fringed a cold greyish-white with no conspicuous 'thorn' at the tips.

A Red-breasted at a similar angle shows prominent 'thorns' at the tertial tips and greater coverts, the latter creating a distinct wingbar. Red-breasted looks less capped as the supercilium is concolourous with the crown, unlike Taiga which has a grey supercilium. The upperparts are also warmer though lighting can affect warmth or lack thereof. The bill has an extensive pale base to the lower mandible.

The grey is apparent above the eye here, contrasting with the browner crown. The bill is completely black. The throat is white framed by a greyish breast with limited buffish on the belly before white undertail coverts. The very small pale tips to the greater coverts don't create a prominent wingbar.



Again the capped effect is striking against the colder upperparts, the insignificant wingbar and moult contrast can be seen, as can the evenly fringed colder tertials lacking a terminal 'thorns'.

An often mentioned feature of Taiga is uppertail coverts, blacker than the tail, but wear often makes this less obvious and other features seem more useful, especially the wingbar of first autumn birds.

I spent the night in Wajima, undecided whether to go back to Hegura in the morning to try again for the Bearded Tit and hopefully get a photograph of it. The weather didn't hold out much hope though, heavy rain was forecast from about the time the ferry would arrive.


I birded the hill behind Wajima harbour from dawn. There were a few Daurian Redstarts around, a Dusky Thrush flew over and there were a handful of Elegant Buntings. Nothing to get too excited about. So I finally made up my mind to give Hegura another shot, or at least check if the ferry was operating. I'd only driven a snail's pace 30 metres down the car park road below the lighthouse when an eye-catching bunting flew up from the road onto the bushes steeply sloping up to my left. It was a large bunting and perched facing me the slight yellow below ruled out the resident Meadow Buntings as well as the newly arrived Elegant. Because of the angle through the windscreen the was nothing for it but to carefully open the door a crack and slither out. The bird flew a little and was now facing away, I managed a few shots before it disappeared. Yellow-breasted! This is quite a rarity nowadays, I don't even see it every year, so this was a real treat.


Unfortunately, after slithering out of the car the I ended up on the wrong bird and the following images I originally claimed to be of the Yellow-breasted aren't. This bird was sitting roughly in the spot the Yellow-breasted flew to and  I quickly got the camera on it managed these images before it disappeared. I remember thinking as I looked through the lens that it looked surprisingly like a Meadow Bunting from this angle but dismissed the thought, I was sure after all that this was the bird with yellow underparts. I owe thanks to Nial Moores for getting in touch to diplomatically ask whether I'd posted the correct images.

While waiting for its (non-)reappearance a couple more buntings flew into the same bushes and I was able to see the distinctive head pattern of a male Tristram's through the upper stems before they too dropped down and disappeared into the inaccessible undergrowth. Not bad few minutes after three hours of seeing very little, but by this time the chance to getting back out to Hegura had disappeared too and I could only listen to the sound of the ferry's engines as it pulled out of the harbour.


A final couple of shots. Hawfinches always seem much easier to approach on Hegura than back home, these ones were next to the photographers' platform the previous day.

Hegurajima October 7

Heading out to Hegura, even for just a day trip when the weather is far from perfect in birding terms, is always exciting. Whatever the weather something could turn up or a earlier arrival still be lingering. Of course a day trip means getting there at 10:30 and catching the 3pm boat back. It doesn't allow enough time to even cover the whole island, small as it is, let alone spend sufficient time in each area to find the more secretive species. So it proved this time but even some of the easily found birds were pretty good.

When I'm staying on the island I always make a beeline for the accommodation, get rid of my bag and into the field as quickly as possible. Whereas on day trips my first port of call is no further than the scrap of scrub in the harbour. This tiny area never seems to disappoint and I wonder how many good birds I've missed over the years hurrying by on the way to dump my stuff. To call this 30m x 30m nugget of knee-high vegetation even a scrap of scrub seems rather grand, it may be a universe to an arch-skulker but to most birds, even with the small seamless blob of central bushes (probably no more than three or four), there aren't many places to hide!

On this occasion I glimpsed the distinctive tail pattern of a Taiga/Red-breasted Flycatcher dive into the clump of bushes. I managed to get a brief view as it perched in the penumbra before vanishing stubbornly into the interior. But as I was leaving the island there it was again, this time perched right out in the open on the wooden fence charged with holding back this mini-jungle. Thus it provided an excellent introduction and conclusion to this all-to-short visit - even though I wasn't left with enough time to try to get any half decent shots of it.

With more time and a few mealworms that the photographers usually come armed with, I'm sure this bird would have proved very cooperative.

100 metres further on, in the less often cut strip of grass and weeds along the edge of what used to be the school playing field (it still is I suppose, it's just no longer a school with any pupils) a Middendorff's Warbler popped up and whirred the slow-motion locustella whir into the hedge. How do they migrate thousands of kilometres when reaching the nearest cover looks as much as they can manage? Then a couple of minutes later I was looking at a Yellow-browed Bunting. Yellow-browed is a more frequent spring migrant and as I usually visit other islands in spring this was both a Hegura and autumn tick for me. And very nice too!

Kamchatka Leaf Warblers were common on the island but the only other phylloscs I had were three Yellow-browed Warblers and one Sakhalin Leaf Warbler heard only.

I don't think I've ever been to Hegura in October without seeing Pine Bunting. Sometimes small flocks of them, yet I've never seen one anywhere else in Japan except once for a rather dashing wintering male in Hokkaido. It's not as though they're either skulking or difficult to identify and I find it odd that I don't see more given they're so regular here.

Pine Bunting in the harbour, a farewell bonus before jumping on the ferry.

The "midday shift" allowed by the ferry schedule isn't necessarily the most productive and considering I had a two-hour lull during which I found very little I had no complaints about the trip. This is the list of species recorded:-

Mandarin Duck   8
Streaked Shearwater   common from the ferry
Grey Heron   1
Black Kite   1
Black-tailed Gull   common
Slaty-backed Gull   c10 in Wajima harbour
Black Woodpigeon   2
Oriental Turtle Dove   several
Great Tit   2-3
Coal Tit   1
Barn Swallow   1 the only Barn during the four-day trip to Ishikawa
Skylark   5
Brown-eared Bulbul   a few
Japanese Bush Warbler   c12 heard
Asian Stubtail   1
Middendorff's Warbler   1
Yellow-browed Warbler   3
Kamchatka Leaf Warbler   common
Sakhalin Leaf Warbler   1 heard
Japanese White-eye   fairly common
Dusky Thrush   2
thrush sp   2-3
Blue Rock Thrush   2-3
Asian Brown Flycatcher   1
Taiga Flycatcher   1
White Wagtail   2
Red-throated Pipit   1
Brambling   c20
Oriental Greenfinch   several
Pine Bunting   1
Yellow-browed Bunting   1
Black-faced Bunting   several