A threatened woodpecker species has been identified from a 2021 photograph in what marks the first sighting on Japan's main island of Honshu in four years, with experts seeking state support for its protection.
(Photo courtesy of the Honshu black woodpecker research group)(Kyodo)
The bird, confirmed by a research group to be an adult male of Japan's largest woodpecker species, the black woodpecker, was photographed by 48-year-old Hideyuki Endo on Mt. Moriyoshi in the northeastern prefecture of Akita, the same location where one was last seen in 2017. While the black woodpecker is still a relatively common sight on the island of Hokkaido, just north of Honshu, the Environment Ministry designates it as a vulnerable species at increasing risk of extinction.
"Up-to-date information on the timing and location of sightings is very important for vulnerable species. We'd like to gather information," an official of the ministry said.
The latest sighting came to light when Endo contacted the research group last October after seeing Japanese media reports that the bird was last spotted on Honshu in 2017. The group has been studying the bird for a long time.
The photo was taken in late May, not long after the chicks normally hatch, when parent birds as especially busy, according to the group.
"As black woodpeckers raise their chicks with a female and male, there could be a female one somewhere," said Tadashi Fujii, leader of the group.
Known for its sleek black plumage accented by a deep-red crest, the black woodpecker, whose scientific name is Dryocopus martius, was designated a "national natural monument" in Japan in 1965.
(Photo courtesy of the Honshu black woodpecker research group)(Kyodo)