Eophona personata
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
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.
This is a large finch, with a reported weight of 80 g (2.8 oz) (for a single male) and a length of 18 to 23 cm (7.1 to 9.1 in). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 10.2 to 11.7 cm (4.0 to 4.6 in), the tail is 8.3 to 9.5 cm (3.3 to 3.7 in) and the culmen is 2.1 to 2.6 cm (0.83 to 1.02 in). The signature feature of the Japanese grosbeak is its large, pointed bright yellow bill. The adult grosbeak has a large black marking extending from the nape to the chin and ear-coverts to the neck. The side of the neck is a contrasting pale whitish grey. The bird's underside is a more dull grey. The back is greyish-brown while the flanks are washed with a gingery or tawny-brown colour. The wings and tail are black but for a white patch on the inner-coverts and band of white in the middle of the primaries, which is visible in flight. Juveniles are a duller grey overall with no black on head. Wikipedia →
Recording0:11
Japan · 2026
Hunter Stevens · iNaturalist · CC0
Recording0:04
Japan · 2024
© chiffon14 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:26
Japan · 2025
© ITÔ, Hiroki · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beijing Wildlife Park | 🇨🇳 China |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Grosbeak sighting in Nikko National Park on a given day, based on 78 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 40th most-seen of the 102 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Grosbeak in Nikko National Park on a given day, against about 10% in November to April, the lowest months. That is one of Nikko National Park's wettest months, with about 230 mm of rain against 100 mm in November.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Japanese Grosbeak sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Nikko National Park, in our data
Nikko National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Japanese Grosbeak sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Fringillidae
The closest relatives of the Japanese Grosbeak that you can see in Nikko National Park (family Fringillidae, Finches, Euphonias, and Allies) are Oriental Greenfinch (about 20%), Brambling (about 10%) and Eurasian Bullfinch (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Japanese Grosbeak is recorded against all the birds logged in Nikko National Park (78 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
