Japanese Grosbeak

Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata) is a large East Asian finch with a massive yellow bill, grey body, black mask and head and black wings marked with white. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It inhabits woodland, parks and wooded farmland, feeding on hard seeds, fruit and buds with its powerful bill and moving in small flocks outside the breeding season. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).