Basics: 1961, hardcover, 233 pages, 132 color illustrations, 17 b&w illustrations, 186 species, no range maps

This older field guide is an incomplete one (1/3 of all Japanese birds) and is not formatted like today's typical field guide. There are one or two birds illustrated together in the top half of the page with the text below. The illustrations are more reminiscent of paintings found on calendars or postcards than the detail-oriented illustrations we see today.

The one-half page of text covers identification, range, habitat, and habits. The descriptive notes do a decent job, but would not always be of solid help with the various drab warblers.

The first 48 pages of the book cover the history of birds in Japan, distribution and migration patterns, ecology, and various habitats and locations that can be examined by the birder.

Perhaps the only English field guide for Japan in its day (1960s), this book is now obsolete in relation to the many other books available. The book is typically now considered to be more of a collector’s item.

I’ve listed several related books below…
1) A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan by the Wild Bird Society of Japan
2) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan (4582542301) in Japanese
3) Wild Birds of Japan by Kanouchi (4635070077) in Japanese
4) Birds of Japan: Photographic Field Book 15 (4635060721) in Japanese
5) Birds of Japan: Photographic Pocket Guide (4635062171) in Japanese
6) A Field Guide to the Birds of Korea by Lee/Koo/Park
7) Wild Birds of Korea by Yoon
8) Birds of Japan in Natural Colours by Kobayashi ( )