The characteristics of the avifauna of the Nansei Shoto are explained. The Nansei Shoto consists of the Ryukyu, Senkaku, and Daito islands. The avifauna of the islands, in particular in relation to the species endemic to the islands and those species also occurrign in the islands as well as in both Kyushu and Taiwan, was investigated by means of the literature, mainly the “Check-List of Japanese birds. Sixth Revised Edition (The Ornithological Society of Japan 2000)”. The number of breeding bird species on islands was greatest on the largest islands, and reached maxima (37 species) on both Okinawa and Iriomote islands. In order to understand the similarities between the avifaunas of the various islands, Nomura-Simpsons' coefficient of breeding birds on twelve representative islands of the Nansei Shoto, Kyushu, and Taiwan were calculated. The results of the cluster analyses of the similarities among islands were partly explained by the distances between islands. It is inferred that disparities between the similarities of avifaunas and distances among islands result from differences in the environments of each island.
