Description

Japan is a small country stretching from northto south. There are many mountains and forests. As Japan issurrounded by the seas, it has long shorelines. Japan enjoysdistinct four seasons. Thanks to those characteristics, manyspecies of wild birds can be observed. Those birds that live in thesame habitat are called resident birds. Those that migrate arecalled migratory birds. Migratory birds are categorized into twogroups. Those migratory birds that come to Japan in spring and nestand leave in autumn are called summer migratory birds. And thosecome in late autumn and stay until the next spring are calledwinter migratory birds. In addition to them, those birds that strayinto Japan on rare occasions are called accidental visitors. Manyavid birdwatchers travel far to watch those accidentals. Birds arealso named after their habitats. Those birds that mainly live inthe mountains and fields are called mountain birds. Those live nearthe waters are called waterside birds.
　There are about 10,000 birds’ species in the world and some 600species (6%) were observed in Japan. Some birds are residents onlyin Japan. Such birds are Okinawa woodpecker and Okinawa rail inOkinawa, and Bonin honeyeater in Ogasawara Islands. In winter, manyWhite-tailed sea eagle, Steller’s sea eagle, and Whooper and Tundraswans visits Hokkaido. Japanese cranes also congregate at severalfeeding grounds. Many birdwatchers from overseas visit there toenjoy birding of those wonderful birds. As a matter of fact,Hokkaido is listed among the top three spots as the worldbirdwatching location.
I hope you’ll enjoy my pictures taken over forty years. Those arephotos of birds with beautiful plumage in four seasons, twitteringbirds, birds in flight, birds doing interesting behaviors, andothers. Please enjoy the pictures and make your life muchricher.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　Beto Akihiro Asami Smith

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Akihiro Asami

Took Pictures of More Than 2,000 Wild Bird Species in 40years.
Received an Annual Grand Prix Prize in Nature ScienceDivision
from Nikon.