Gruidae of Japan and its adjacent territories

Abstract

There are four categories on the species of cranes found in Japan. The first, the resident that breeds at a certain district of Japan is Grus japonensis. The second, the winter visitors from the north yearly migrate to Japan in large flocks are Grus monacha and G. vipio: the first was the commonest crane in Japan in the olden days. The third, Grus leucogeranus was a common winter visitor in Kyushu district before the Meiji Era, but no longer found in Japan since that time; the reason of which is not possible to explain. The fourth is stragglers which have two or three capture records chiefly in the olden days; they are Grus grus lilfordi and Anthropoides virgo. If Saghalin, Korea, Manchuria, China, Hainan and Formosa are included besides Japan we have to enumerate one extra besides the above mentioned six species, which is Grus nigricollis.Besides the native cranes several foreign species i. e. Gras nigricollis, Balearica pavonina ceciliae, B. p. regulorum, Grus antigone sharpii, G. a, antigone, G. rubicunda have been brought over to the Jananese zoos and parks as caged birds.