Japanese robin | Animalz

Japanese robinA bird of dense mountain undergrowth that hops over the ground searching for small animals.What does it look like?Males have a brown crown and reddish-orange face and breast. The corresponding orange areas are duller in females.An island history beyond map distanceJapanese Robins breed on islands across East Asia. Izu birds differ from mainland birds in plumage and ecology. A 2023 study compared their nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Nuclear markers indicated recent differentiation between Izu and mainland groups. Mitochondrial DNA showed one lineage shared across a broad area and another, smaller lineage found only on Izu. The island group combines a recent split in nuclear ancestry with a distinctive maternal pattern: one lineage is widespread, while the other occurs in a minority of Izu birds.Keeping it safeJapan Ministry of the Environment Fifth Red List (birds) · Vulnerable (VU), Taneko-komadori subspecies only · Japan; Larvivora akahige tanensisThe Japan Ministry of the Environment’s Fifth Red List for birds places the Izu Islands subspecies, Taneko-komadori (Larvivora akahige tanensis), in Vulnerable (VU). This is a Japanese subspecies assessment. The list was published on 17 March 2026; it gives no individual assessment date or population trend.