Observatins of sea-bird colonies made in May and July, 1959, and June and July, 1960 on Moyururi Island off southeastern Hokkaido, are reported.
The island measures 3km. of costal lengh with elevation of 30m. from the sea level. It is a bare and uninhabited island.
Twenty-six species of birds including 12 species of sea birds were recorded. Of the sea birds, 7 species breed on this island (Table 1). There were about 120 individuals of Phalacrocorax capillatus, about 70 P. urile, about 400 Larus schistisagus, about 200 L. crassirostris, 29 Uria aalge, about 160 Cepphus carbo and about 230 Lunda cirrhata. Cerorhinca monocerata could not be encountered because of the nocturnal habit. Breeding sea birds had eggs during May and June, and young during June and July.
The colonies of Phalacrocorax urile, Larus schistisagus and Lunda cirrhata on this island form the southern limit of their breeding range. In Uria aalge Ko-jima in the Japan Sea side and Moyururi Is. in the Pacific side, are the southern limis. Therefore Moyururi Island is very important ornithogeographically.

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Based on field observations of the Japanese Crested Ibis Nipponia nippon, and 11 photopraphs taken by the autor in the field in various seasons in Sodo 1., he confirmed his earlier finding that the greyish wash of the plumage on the back is the indication of its nuptial adult phase in spring. This wash is entirely lost in winter individuals. In younger birds, however, the greyish wash does not occur even in the spring.

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The followieg new specimen records are reported: Rallus philippensis pelewensis (Angaur I., 1936), Tr. troglodytes idius (Shichihatsw-to, Korea. _??_Nov. 1930), Otus scops elegans (Tokunoshima _??_Feb. 1959), Ixobrychus cinnamomeus (Tokunoshima. _??_Dec. 1955), Chloris sinica ussuriensis (Shimane, Honshiu. _??_Mar. 1941), Turdus dauma aureus (Ibaraki, Honshiu. _??_Jan. 1947), Tr. troglodytes peninsulae (Shimane, Houshiu. _??_Dec. 1938), Ixobrychus sinensis bryani (Omaezaki, Shizuoka, Honsbiu. _??_Oct. 1937).

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Judging by the personal reports received by the author from lighthouse keepers in various parts of Japan, the following may be suggested as possible behaviour of night migrants, particularly the Passrines.
1) The passage of night migrants is noticed offshore rather than ashore where there are islands and capes to avoid, and they fly low close to the seasurface.
2) As generally said, they migrate in clear nights, but when the sky suddenly became overcast or rainy, they may be lost and if a lighthouse were close enough its dim light may attract them. In such cases, some of them die struck at the lighthouse and others spend the night nearby to start again in the next favourable evening. In clear night this never happens.
3) The second case of migrant destruction at lighthouses occurs when the weather was good during the day and became cloudy or rainy towards evening. On such a day, migrants gathering around lihthouse at a cape where there are usually good cover for rest, become restless to start for night flight, but the sudden overcast condition urges them only to fly around the light and some or numbers of them will strike at it.
4) Stronger the light the more migrants are attracted from greater distances and the lighthouse at more unstable weather condition is responsible for more migrant victims.
5) In recent years, however, the birds struck at lighthouses has become extrmely fewer, owing possibly to: a) the genereal decrease of bird numbers and b) increase of coastal village lights and lights of fishing boats on the coastal seasurface.

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Phylloscopus tenellipes and Ph. borealis xanthodryas breed in high altitudes in Norikura range, Honshiu. They arrive foot zone in early May, but final snow fall on the peak was noticed as late as 27 May. In the foot-zone study area, the Bansho highland, these species were in full song in late May, but were apparently waitng for advance of season before leaving to high range for breeding. They were thus in the stage of pair formation assembly at lower level forest.

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Observations on the breeding of Ceryle lugubris along Kushiro River, Hokkaido is reported. Nesting was observed from late May. The nest hole was dug below the upper edge of the river bank of loose volcanic ash. New hole was dug, not by detour, if there were hard object. The clutch size was 7. The nesting colony of R. riparia was at the same place.

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No breeding record for Smew, Mergus albellus Linné, has hitherto been known in Japan ("A Hand-List of Japanese Birds", 4th edition, 1958). Reported here are : 1. Six adults and 5 young were observed at Wakasakanai, the northern part of Hokkaido, July 1, 1961. 2. The pond, where Smews were observed, was in fir forest and about 50m. in diameter. Carex curvicollis and its allies were on the watersurface.

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An adult bird of Grus leucogeranus was observed staying at Lake Ochi, Ishikawa Pref. during 27 April and 23 May, 1961 (see photos). The species had never been recorded about a century until a juvenile bird was seen in Kiushiu in the winters of 1959 and 1960 (Tori No. 57). The occurrence of adult bird in spring here reported is of interest.

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A Blue-Magpie, Cyanopica cyanus, kept free in the author's garden often enjoys smoke-bathing when oven is burnt. Its fire-bathing is a peculiar behaviour which it performs first flying into the remains of burning sticks thrown out of the oven and tumbles about back-side down on it about 4 seconds, after which the preening is done on a perch. Thus, the tips of the wings and tail become burnt. Moreover, it also takes a pieces of burnt stick and its fire-end is rubbed on the inner side of the wings. Its taking of burnt sticks to everywhere about is a dangerous habit.

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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