The pelagic distribution of the Short-tailed Albatross Phoebastria albatrus in the western North Pacific off the Nansei Islands to eastern Japan was examined from data collected by research vessels from 1999 to 2004. Fifteen groups and 325 individuals of Short-tailed Albatrosses were recorded during line-transect sighting surveys, and 25 groups and 45 individuals were recorded in opportunistic observations during cruising, drifting and experimental fishing. Results of the sighting survey revealed that Short-tailed Albatrosses appeared in three areas off Japan from the fourth quarter to the next second quarter: 1) off the Pacific coast of eastern Japan, 2) near Torishima of the Izu Islands, and 3) near Minamikojima of the Senkaku Islands. Geographical analysis of the occurrence points showed that large numbers of Short-tailed Albatrosses aggregated in the near-shore waters within 30 km of the breeding islands, and that they also utilized the Kuroshio-Oyashio mixture zone above the continental shelf edge and slope 200–1400 m in depth and 20–70 km offshore of the Pacific coast of eastern Japan. Results of this study suggest that a resting area near the breeding islands and a foraging area above the continental slope off eastern Japan are important marine habitats for the Short-tailed Albatross during the breeding period.
A fresh corpse of the Black-chinned Fruit Dove Ptilinopus leclancheri was collected on Iriomote Island of the Ryukyu Islands, southwestern Japan (24°15′13′′N, 123°52′15′′E), on 26 August 2004 immediately after the passage of a typhoon. This is the first record of this species in Japan, whose normal range is Taiwan or the Philippines. Considering the geographic and atmospheric circumstances, it is most probable that the bird arrived at Iriomote Island accidentally. The undeveloped small ovary and the slightly ossified skull strongly suggest this individual to have been a juvenile female. Comparative measurements of three Taiwanese specimens and the Japanese one were newly taken and compared with literature on this species. All four specimens shared similar measurements, especially in terms of the distinctively long culmen, which is suggestive of subspecies P. l. taiwanus, although the subspecies status had been suspected to be wrongly attributed to vagrant individuals with abnormal characters.
Compared to their wild ancestors, domesticated animals have evolved not only through natural selection. During the long period of their domestication, artificial selection by humans has been directed toward changes in form, shape, coloration, physiological function, etc. The domesticated chicken, Gallus gallus domesticus, is considered to have been derived from its wild ancestor, the Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus, for the purpose of exploitation. For example, different cultures selected characters and behaviours for certain purposes, such as crowing to signal the time, cockfighting, divination and food consumption. Additionally, in many parts of Asia, the coloration of the plumage and shank can be important elements for use in ritual ceremonies. Clearly, cultural background may influence the external and internal features of the domesticated chicken. To elucidate the domestication process, we investigated the influence of cultural-specific background, value system, preference and knowledge on human evaluation of the shape and colour of chickens. We compared two distinct cultures, represented by Chiang Rai Province, Thailand and Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. An optimal solution model revealed clear differences between the subjects of Thailand and Japan in their respective preference for chicken figures. We also used a five-stage evaluation to investigate the tendency that people evaluate a chicken figure as “for meat” or “for cockfighting”, as well as “for appreciation” or “for economy”. The study demonstrated that the differences observed in the evaluation results related to cockfighting were reflected also in a contrast in breeding knowledge.
Plumage, shank color and comb shape of 617 native chickens were recorded at four ethnic settlements in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. The frequencies of genes controlling these morphological characters were calculated from the phenotypes of all 617 birds observed. In all settlements, the frequency of dominant white (I) was low, whereas the frequencies of wild type (e+) for the extended black locus (E, e+, e) were highest. The gene frequencies of shank color (Id, id) and comb type (P, p) changed in relation to the ethnicity of the human residents.
Breeding sites of the Japanese Murrelet Synthliboramphus wumizusume are restricted to some small islands off Japan, but its breeding behavior and postbreeding dispersal are poorly known. On May 2003, an observation of a chick was reported in the south of Boso Peninsula, southeast Japan. On 16 May 2006, I observed two adults and two putative chicks of the Japanese Murrelet, on the coast of Tateyama City at the south end of Boso peninsula. This site is c. 70 km away from the nearest islands where this species is known to breed.
We report a successful breeding of the Japanese Night Heron in 2007 within a remnant broad-leaved forest at the centre of a recently developed city area in Sanda, Hyogo Prefecture. One chick fledged and three eggs failed to hatch. It is suggested that those restricted natural environments left in the vicinity of human residences play an important role for conservation of endangered bird species.