Birds · Passeriformes · Muscicapidae

Japanese Robin

Larvivora akahige

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The Japanese robin is a bird of the understorey with an intensely orange face and breast, an olive back and a dark band across the breast. It lives in the humid mountain forests of Japan and Korea. It is one of the three birds that Japanese tradition regards as having the most beautiful song, together with the Japanese bush warbler and the Siberian blue robin.

Weight

14 g – 20 g

Size

14 cm – 15 cm

Lifespan

8 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestMountainInsectivore Diurnal Solitary Bird Temperate forest Mountain

6countries 21parks14same family

Fun facts

It is one of the three songsters of the Japanese forest, a traditional trio of songbirds that the country's culture regards as having the most beautiful song, together with the Japanese bush warbler and the Siberian blue robin.
Its song begins with a high, drawn-out trill followed by a descending series, and the males sing from inside the understorey, hardly ever showing themselves.
The subspecies of the Izu Islands, south of Tokyo, is considered a threatened taxon in its own right, with a very small population isolated from the rest.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Humid understorey of mountain forests of Japan, Korea and the Kuril Islands; winters in southern China
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 14 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 4 eggs

Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/