【National Designation：Natural Monument (Animal)】Ijima’s Leaf Warbler (Ijimamushikui: Phylloscopus ijimae)

Almost the same size as the Japanese bush warbler, the Ijima’s leaf warbler is also a migratory bird that is similar in shape. Their wings are around 5.8cm to 6.5cm, beaks are 1.1cm, tail is 4.5cm, and the inner and outer tarsus is 1.9cm. The throat, chest and belly are milky-white and from the forehead to the back of the head is a clear, yellow superciliary stripe. They inhabit mountainous forests, wooded areas in the lowlands and bamboo groves, and they quickly move between the branches and leaves at treetops to look for food.

At times, they feed on the ground between wooded areas as well as on rocks. They make their nests from dead leaves, moss, etc. on the lower branches of trees or bamboo, and lay three to four white colored eggs. They feed on insects and spiders, but also eat seeds of weeds. These birds belong to the subfamily of warblers and are a species indigenous to Japan. They are summer birds that fly to the Izu Islands from the end of March to the beginning of April to breed, and fly to other areas in November. They are migratory birds and they have been recorded as flying to Okinawa, Miyako, and Yonaguni Islands. (Designated without a specific area.)