The Philippines (556 species) and Japan (524 species) support rich avifaunas. 215 species, 138 of which are migratory, are common to the two countries. At present, some 19 species have been demonstrated to migrate from Japan to the Philippines, 12 of which were recorded during the MAPS project and the remaining 7 added through banded recoveries carried out by the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology. An increase in regular banding activities in the Philippines would most likely boost the number of species known to migrate from both countries.
In terms of conservation, the Philippines contains some 87 threatened species, a majority of which are endemic forest species threatened by increasing loss of forest habitat. Japan has only 26 threatened species, only 6 of which are endemic. There are, however, 14 endangered species (including 11 migrants) that are found in both Japan and the Philippines. Measures must be adopted to strengthen cooperative conservation activities for both endemic Philippine birds and migratory species common to both countries.

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Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus is a common spring and autumn migrant along the Japanese coast, and is also occasionally seen in small flocks inland. At about 9:00 PM on the night of September 13th, 1993, a flock of 100 Red-necked Phalarope strayed into Okoppe-cho Baseball Stadium (Monbetsu County, Eastern Hokkaido -44°28′N, 143°08′E). Presumably these birds had been attracted by the bright stadium lights (similar incidents have been recorded in the past for this species, but not during the last 20 years). The birds flew around the stadium, sometimes landing for brief intervals, for about 30 minutes before departing. Some of the birds crashed into the standium fence and were killed or injured. 6 of these were recovered as specimens to be measured and analyzed at the Natural History Museum and Institute. Chiba (specimen No. CBMZB1775-CBMZB1780). All of the recovered specimens were juveniles which had not yet molted into the 1st winter plumage. All specimens showed pale cream coloration from throat to breast, and diagnostic dark brown markings on the tertials. Juvenile feathers also remained on the mantle and wing-coverts. Observations at the stadium confirmed that no adults were present in the flock. Large flocks of Red-necked Phalarope, numbering from 1000-3600 individuals, are frequently observed during the spring migration period. These large flocks, however, are composed of adults, and flocks, however, are composed of adults, and flocks of juveniles number only in the low one-hundreds. This indicates that adults and juveniles migrate separately in spring. The data discussed here supports the contention that juveniles and adults also migrate separately in autumn, with juveniles leaving the breeding grounds later than adults. Unfortunately, age-composition data is not available for earlier incidents.

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