Showing posts with label bird. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bird. Show all posts

Friday, October 18, 2013

More Avian manholes


n3255

It turns out that birds are quite a common design element in Japanese manhole designs.
Previous posts showing some can be found here. and here.

This first one is from the small island of Teshima in the Akinada Sea off of Hiroshima, and the bird is a cormorant.

k9926

This one is from Musashi Town, now a part of Kunisaki City in Oita. It depicts a pair of Mejiro, Japanese White-Eyes. For a photo of real Mejiro see this post

k1997

Sanko Town, now a part of Nakatsu City in Oita has a pair of Japanese Bush warblers, Uguisu, in Japanese. Strangely the town bird is the Mejiro.

ok5425

Nago Town on Ishigaki Island in Okinawa features a pair of Ryukyu Mejiro.

ok6236

Ishigaki City on the same island features an Akashobin, Ruddy Kingfisher in English. Common throughout east and southeast Asia it is quite rare in Japan.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

More Manhole birds


h1841

A unique bird is featured on the manhole for Nankoku in Kochi, the Onaga Dori, or Long tailed Cock has the longest feathers in the world that have been known to reach 10 meters in length. The birds have been bred here since the early Edo Period. The local daimyo used to use the feathers to decorate spears carried in his processions to Edo.

h3858

Haruno, also in Kochi features what I believe is a Japanese Wagtail, but I may be mistaken...

h6064

Ozu, in Ehime Prefecture, like Miyoshi in Hiroshima, still practise the ancientbart of fishing with cormorants...

k9346

In Kurayoshi, Tottori, a type of duck is featured.... I have been unable to find out why

k2508

Finally, Yuu in Yamaguchi features a kingfisher, kawasemi. There are numerous species of Kingfisher, but I presume this is the Common Kingfisher.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Manhole Birds




tak1231

Toyono Town in Kumamoto Prefecture uses an image of the ugusui, Japanese Bush-warbler.

m1447

Up in Matsue, Shimane soem of the smaller draincovers around the castle moat feature the swan, hakucho in Japanese.

sh209

Saijo City in Ehime on Shikoku features a pair of kingfishers, kawasemi in Japanese.

sh348

Susaki in Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku also featurtes a kingfisher.

h1798

Noichi, also in Kochi, no longer officially exists as it has been merged into a new municipality of Kamita. Among the daffodils flies a Hibari, skylark

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Tsubame Japanese Swallows

k8067

The local railways station, (5 trains a day in each direction) is a small wooden structure that is home to a colony of swallows.

k8232

From late spring its enjoyable to stand and wait for a train while watching the swallows acrobatically swooping around catching bugs to feed to their young safely ensconced in the numerous nests in the waiting room and under the platform roof.

k8231

They may be barn Swallows, Im not sure, but I believe they are not migratory.

k8056

I quite like the impresionistic effect that is created by photographing them at a slower shutter speed.

k8062

Friday, May 7, 2010

Japanese White-eye

sui5598

This little guy flew straight into our window and dropped like a stone. We put him in the shade up high out of reach of the local cats and an hour later it was gone, so I presume it was OK.

In Japanese it is known as mejiro, which means white eye.

It is common throughout Japan and most of East Asia, It was kept as a caged bird because of its song.

Introduced into Hawaii for pest control in the early twentieth century, it is now a dominant species there.