Abstract
On 28 March 1984, I observed and photographed a single Mistle Thrush in Obata Ryokuchi Koen, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan (34°47'N, 135°0'E). On geographic grounds, and supported by the bird's large size, pale plumage and bill structure, it can reasonably be ascribed to the subspecies Turdus viscivorus bonapartei. The Mistle Thrush has now occurred at least three times in Japan: early February to late March 1984, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture (Brazil 1991), on Ainoshima, Fukuoka Prefecture on 3 November 1998, and most recently on Hegura-jima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on 15 October 1999. Although it has been reported in various popular publications it has not been admitted to the official list of the birds of Japan (OSJ 2000), on the basis that it had not been reported in a scientific journal by March 1999. This short note provides both written and photographic evidence and confirmation of the first occurrence of the species in Japan so that it may be admitted to the official list.
