Phylloscopus xanthodryas
Silhouette: Jiekun He · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The Japanese leaf warbler (Phylloscopus xanthodryas) is a leaf warbler (family Phylloscopidae). The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1863. It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. It is closely related to the Arctic warbler and the Kamchatka leaf warbler, to which it was formerly considered conspecific.
It is found throughout Japan, except on Hokkaido; it winters to Southeast Asia. The Japanese Leaf-Warbler is sized between 12–13 cm in length. They typically have darker green upper body feathers, with an under body (or belly) with lighter green feathers. They have a very short and black (with a hint of yellow) beak, as well as extremely small legs that vary from pale yellow to orange-brown. The bird has a clear yellowish-white eyebrow stripe above the bird's dark eyes. Adults are bright olive-green (with a white wingbar and greenish tail). Both sexes look alike. Juveniles are roughly similar, yet duller in color (more grey-brown).
Monotypic, only existing form of this species of bird and there are no further subdivisions. This species lives in mixed and deciduous forests, as well as in coniferous... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikko National Park | 🇯🇵 Japan |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Leaf Warbler sighting in Nikko National Park on a given day, based on 43 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 62nd most-seen of the 102 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Japanese Leaf Warbler in Nikko National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–April and October–December, 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 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Japanese Leaf Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 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 Leaf Warbler sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Phylloscopus
The closest relatives of the Japanese Leaf Warbler that you can see in Nikko National Park (genus Phylloscopus, Leaf Warblers) are Eastern Crowned-Warbler (about 20%) and Sakhalin Leaf-Warbler (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Japanese Leaf Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Nikko National Park (43 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.
