One of great attraction of Mt. Takao is to be able to observe all kinds of birds. Its number is almost 150 kinds which is one third of the species confirmed in all over Japan. Mt. Takao is the paradise for birds and one of the best place for bird watching. Various kinds of birds and its lifestyle could be observed including summer birds come in spring time, winter birds come from the higher altitude and hearing beautiful bird songs during breeding season.
Just like other species in the Ardeidae family, they create the habitat area called colony in forests from flatlands to hills. They stay in a colony during daytime and hunt for fish, frogs and crayfish at waterside such as rivers, bogs and ponds at night. They wait for preys to come closer and catch immediately with bills. Males and females have same body color and there are people who say that they are like penguins. Adults have two decorative feathers on the back of a head. The young adults have white patterns on the brown body. They are called Hoshigoi and look completely different from adult birds. The breeding season is from April to August. They build nests with twigs on trees in a colony, and lay four to six eggs in a season.
●Body Length about 57 cm
●Season January to December (resident bird: a bird that stays in the same area all year round)
●Body Length about 57 cm
●Season January to December (resident bird: a bird that stays in the same area all year round)