x.) they have enumerated 359 species. Starlings (_muku-dori_) are numerous, and so are the wagtail (_sekirei_), the swallow (_tsubame_) the martin (_ten_), the woodchat (_mozu_) and the jay (_kakesu_ or _kashi-dori_), but the magpie (_togarasu_), though common in China, is rare in Japan. Blackbirds and thrushes are not found, nor any species of parrot, but on the other hand, we have the hoopoe (_yatsugashira_), the red-breast (_komadori_), the bluebird (_ruri_), the wren (_miso-sazai_), the golden-crested wren (_itadaki_), the golden-eagle (_inu-washi_), the finch (_hiwa_), the longtailed rose-finch (_benimashiko_), the ouzel--brown (_akahara_), dusky (_tsugumi_) and water (_kawa-garasu_)--the kingfisher (_kawasemi_), the crake (_kuina_) and the tomtit (_kara_). Among game-birds there are the quail (_uzura_), the heathcock (_ezo-racho_), the ptarmigan (_ezo-raicho_ or _ezo-yama-dori_), the woodcock (hodo-shigi), the snipe (_ta-shigi_)--with two special species, the solitary snipe (_yama-shigi_) and the painted snipe (_tama-shigi_)--and the pheasant (_kiji_). Of the last there are two species, the _kiji_ proper, a bird presenting no remarkable features, and the copper pheasant, a magnificent bird with plumage of dazzling beauty. Conspicuous above all others, not only for grace of form but also for the immemorial attention paid to them by Japanese artists, are the crane (_tsuru_) and the heron (_sagi_). Of the crane there are seven species, the stateliest and most beautiful being the _Grus japonensis_ (_tancho_ or _tancho-zuru_), which stands some 5 ft. high and has pure white plumage with a red crown, black tail-feathers and black upper neck. It is a sacred bird, and it shares with the tortoise the honour of being an emblem of longevity. The other species are the demoiselle crane (_anewa-zuru_), the black crane (_kuro-zuru_ or _nezumi-zuru_, i.e. _Grus cinerea_), the _Grus leucauchen_ (_mana-zuru_), the _Grus monachus_ (_nabe-zuru_), and the white crane (_shiro-zuru_). The Japanese include in this category the stork (_kozuru_), but it may be said to have disappeared from the island. The heron (_sagi_) constitutes a charming feature in a Japanese landscape, especially the silver heron (_shira-sagi_), which displays its brilliant white plumage in the rice-fields from spring to early autumn. The night-heron (_goi-sagi_) is very common. Besides these waders there are plover (_chidori_); golden (_muna-guro_ or _ai-guro_); gray (_daizen_); ringed (_shiro-chidori_); spur-winged (_keri_) and Harting's sand-plover (_ikaru-chidori_); sand-pipers--green (_ashiro-shigi_) and spoon-billed (_hera-shigi_)--and water-hens (_ban_). Among swimming birds the most numerous are the gull (_kamome_), of which many varieties are found; the cormorant (_u_)--which is trained by the Japanese for fishing purposes--and multitudinous flocks of wild-geese (_gan_) and wild-ducks (_kamo_),