To study the moult of remiges and rectrices of the Chestnut-cheeked Starling Agropsar philippensis, we collected 2,056 shed feathers at communal roosts in Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture in 2011 and 2013, and in Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture in 2015. The collected feathers were identified as primaries (P1 to P9), secondaries (S1-2, S3-4, S5-6), tertiaries (Te1 to Te3), and rectrices (R1, R2-4, R5, R6), and were classified as adult male, adult female, and juvenile feathers. The feathers were collected from early July to early October. Chestnut-cheeked Starlings have not been recorded breeding or wintering in the study areas, so they moulted at a stopover site during migration. Almost all parts of feathers were collected, but the number of feathers collected was not uniform. Based on the sequence of moulting, few feathers were collected from the first part of the moult ― the inner primaries and R1, and the last part ― the inner secondaries and P9. These observations indicate that they moult these parts in other locations and times. Three migration patterns and their corresponding divided moult of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings were proposed: (a) After breeding, the bird stays at the breeding site, leaves there in early September, stays at Stopover Site 2 for about one month, and then migrates to the wintering site in early October. The first and main parts of the feathers are moulted at the breeding site, and the last part at Stopover Site 2. (b) After breeding, the bird leaves the breeding site in early July, stays at Stopover Site 1 for about two months, moves to Stopover Site 2 in early September, stays there for about one month, and then migrates to the wintering site in early October. The first part is moulted at the breeding site, the main part at Stopover Site 1, and the last part at Stopover Site 2. (c) After breeding, the bird leaves the breeding site in early July, stays at Stopover Site 2 for about three months, and then migrates to the wintering site in early October. The first part is moulted at the breeding site, and the main and last part at Stopover Site 2. The proportions of adult females and juveniles were significantly lower than that of adult males for all feather parts collected. This suggests that adult females and juveniles tend to stay in the breeding grounds longer, resulting in a higher proportion of adult males in the study area, which corresponds to Stopover Site 1 in migration pattern (b). The importance of protecting the communal roosts at migration stopover sites for the conservation of the Chestnut-cheeked Starling was discussed.

The courtship dance of the Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus on Torishima, Izu Islands was described. We videotaped the dances of 20 breeding pairs during 2011 – 2022, of which the individual identification and the breeding situation was established. In addition, we conducted consecutive observations at a newly established subcolony between 2009/2010 and 2016/2017, to identify any relationship between the courtship dances and the breeding status. During a series of dances, several paired behaviors were performed in a fixed order. Among 10 main behaviors, that occurred most frequently, four showed sex differences. Compared to other species of Phoebastria, the speed of the dance of the Short-tailed Albatross was relatively slow; mainly with the wings flared, and with the only low-pitched vocalizations. Seventy-six percent of dances were performed by pairs that had no experience of breeding, the remaining 16% and 8% was done by breeders that had no chick at the observation time and breeders that had one chick at the observation time, respectively. Observations of 15 breeding pairs for eight consecutive years revealed that the number of dances was significantly higher in years when they had no chick.

Wildfowl communities and their foraging behaviors were investigated from November 2021 to April 2022 in Sakurada moat of the Imperial Palace, Tokyo, where submerged aquatic vegetation Eurasian watermilfoil Myriophyllum spicatum was growing. Wildfowl communities consisting mainly of phytophagous birds whose main food was Eurasian watermilfoil, were dominant in the moat in August 2021. Nearly 100 Eurasian Coots Fulica atra were seen, actively diving to forage and emerging with rooted milfoil stems in their bills. The leeward part of the water surface was covered with milfoil stumps, and the submerged aquatic vegetation that was dominant in Sakurada moat in September 2022 was Potamogeton pusillus. These phenomena may have been influenced by the feeding behavior of waterfowl.

Blyth’s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum was recorded at the mouth of the Hii River, Shimamura-cho, Izumo, Shimane Prefecture. This is the first record of the Blyth’s Reed Warbler for Shimane Prefecture and the Chugoku region, Japan.

Predation on an Okinawa tree lizard Diploderma polygonatum polygonatum by an Amami Thrush Zoothera dauma major, a bird endemic to Amami-Oshima Island, was observed at the Amami Nature Observation Forest on February 24, 2025. Observations of the foraging behavior of this bird are scarce, and this is the first documented case of vertebrate predation by the Amami Thrush. As this constitutes an important record for understanding its feeding habits, the details are reported here.

Japanese names are a useful tool for Japanese speakers to communicate scientifically about birds. However, 40 years have already passed since the most influential book treating Japanese names for all modern birds (Yamashina 1986) was published. During that time, the classification of birds has undergone major changes. Here we provide a revised list of Japanese names for genera and species of Bustards, Turacos and Cuckoos (Otidiformes, Musophagiformes and Cuculiformes), which adopts the latest classification system (Gill et al. 2025).