Japanese Grosbeak

Eophona personata (Temminck & Schlegel, 1847)

18–23 cmLength80 gWeight

It has a large, pointed, bright yellow bill and an extensive black area on the head, with a white band on the wings visible in flight.

Busiest months: May · Most records: Japan, China, South Korea

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Large, pointed, bright yellow bill
Head black
Side of neck pale whitish-gray, belly dark gray
Wings and tail black, with a white band across the middle of the primaries

Male, female and young

Juvenile is duller overall, with no black markings on the head.

Voice

Gives a short, loud “tak tak” in flight; song consists of 4 flute-like whistles.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: May · Most records: Japan, China, South Korea

Japanese Grosbeak has been recorded at 258 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 7 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Kyoto – Kyoto Gyoen Garden / Kyoto Imperial Palace ParkJapan308 records
Karuizawa – Karuizawa Wild Bird SanctuaryJapan244 records
Wajima – Hegurajima (island)Japan148 records

More places

Okayama – Okayama Korakuen GardenJapan95 records
Nerima Ward – Shakujii ParkJapan93 records
Sakata – Tobishima (island)Japan77 records
Hachioji – Mount TakaoJapan74 records
Eocheong-do (island)South Korea70 records
Nagano – Togakushi Forest ParkJapan59 records
Kumamoto – Kamiezu LakeJapan54 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Japan China South Korea Thailand Philippines Mongolia Vietnam

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The Japanese grosbeak (Eophona personata) or Ikaru is a finch native to the East Palearctic. It is also sometimes referred to as the Japanese or masked hawfinch due to superficial similarities to the well-known Eurasian species.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Japanese Grosbeak?

The Japanese Grosbeak is about 18–23 cm long and weighs around 80 g.

Where does the Japanese Grosbeak live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: Amurland, Ussuriland and Sakhalin (Russian Far East), Heilongjiang and Jilin (northeastern China), Hokkaido through Kyushu (Japan). It is most often recorded in Japan, China and South Korea.