Abstract
Data for avian inventories were collected from three uninhabited islands in the Tokara Islands, which are locations with difficult access for research. I used three methods of identification for birds on the islands: 1) direct observation during a few hours on each island during one summer season, 2) infrared-triggered cameras, and 3) timer programmed sound recording systems. Remote systems both had more than a year of battery life, and were installed in forest habitat. The total number of species recorded was 40 on Gaja Island, 30 on Kaminone Island, and 28 on Yokoate Island. The number of species which were inferred to be breeding on the islands were 13, 9, and 8, respectively. Sea birds and herons seldom used the forest habitat, and they were recorded only by direct observation. The avian species whose data were recorded only by the automatic recording systems, which were approximately one-third of the total number of species on any of the 3 islands, were mainly migratory species that wintered or passed through those areas on migration. Data for most of the forest species that were considered as breeding on these islands were repeatedly recorded by several different methods. Only the sound recordings provided continuous records of the presence of singing individuals throughout the breeding season, which gives us a reliable basis to identify the breeding species. Automatic photo and sound recording systems still have problems regarding endurance in the field; nevertheless, they are powerful tools for avian inventory data collection at remote sites.
