Japanese bush-warbler
| Japanese bush warbler | |
|---|---|
.JPG) |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Cettiidae |
| Genus: | Horornis |
| Species: | H. diphone |
| Binomial name | |
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Horornis diphone (Kittlitz, 1830) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Cettia diphone |
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Cettia diphone
The Japanese bush warbler (Horornis diphone), known in Japanese as uguisu (ウグイス), is an Asian passerine bird more often heard than seen. Its distinctive breeding call can be heard throughout much of Japan from the start of spring.
The bird is drab-coloured and secretive. It is normally only seen in spring before there is foliage in the trees. In winter the call is a low chirping. The Japanese bush warbler tends to remain deep in the shadow of foliage during the day.
The Japanese bush warbler is olive brown above and tending toward dusky colors below. It has pale eyebrows. It has a beak that curves up making it look like it is smiling. The bird is typically 15.5 centimetres (6.1 in) in length.
The Japanese bush warbler is a common year-round resident throughout Japan (except Hokkaidō) and northern Philippines. In summer the Japanese bush warbler can also be found in Hokkaidō, Manchuria, Korea, and central China. In winter, the bush-warbler can also be found in southern China and Taiwan.
In summer it ranges from low hills to high mountains, preferring bamboo thickets and black pine trees. In winter it seeks cover at lower elevations.
The propensity of the Japanese bush warbler to sing has led to the birds being kept as cage birds. Robert Young records that to encourage singing the cages of kept birds were covered with a wooden box with a small paper window that allowed only subdued light in. Along with the return of the barn swallow the bush warbler's call is viewed by Japanese as a herald of springtime.
It is one of the favorite motifs of Japanese poetry, featured in many poems including those in Man'yōshū or Kokin Wakashū. In haiku and renga, uguisu is one of the kigo which signify the early spring. In poetry the bird is associated with the ume blossom, and appears with ume on hanafuda playing cards. There is also a popular Japanese sweet named Uguisu-boru (Uguisu Balls) which consists of brown and white balls meant to resemble ume flower buds. However, the distinctive song is not usually heard until later in spring, well after the ume blossoms have faded. In haiku the bird with this song is known as sasako, and the song is called sasanaki.
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Wikipedia