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Hokkaido University Field Ornithology Lab
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A lab that follows the ecology and evolution of birds in the field, from Hokkaido to Okinawa.
AboutAbout the lab
Solving the mysteries of evolution through the birds of the Japanese archipelago.
The Field Ornithology Lab studies the ecology, behavior, and evolution of birds across the Japanese archipelago, from Hokkaido to Okinawa Prefecture.
Centered on fieldwork, the lab combines acoustics, statistics, molecular biology, and other approaches.
The lab values walking the field in person and observing the target species closely.
The lab does not feel it must keep pace with every research trend, nor does it get swept along by them; it aims to build up data that will still be valuable 100 years from now.
Key terms
- Inbreeding
- Mating between closely related individuals that results in offspring
- Banding study
- A study in which birds are fitted with leg bands in different color combinations so that each individual can be recognized and followed for many years
- Coevolution
- The process in which two interacting species evolve while influencing each other
NewsLab news
Testing the significance of calls made during copulation, using the Ryukyu Scops Owl
Experiment tests whether Ryukyu Scops Owl chicks can recognize their kin
The book "Gakken no Zukan LIVE: Tori" (Birds), supervised by Professor Takagi, is published
Island-isolated birds develop distinctive plumage color, as reported in the Ryukyu Scops Owl
ResearchResearch themes
The lab practices field ornithology using the Japanese archipelago, which stretches long from north to south between Hokkaido and Okinawa Prefecture, as its subject. Through fieldwork, it aims to solve the "mysteries" of ecology and evolutionary biology.
*Illustrative imageRyukyu Scops Owl
The lab has followed this small owl, widely distributed across the Ryukyu Islands, since 2002. On Minami-Daito Island, a long-term banding study that identifies each bird individually by its leg bands continues, and it has demonstrated mate choice and the avoidance of inbreeding.
*Illustrative imageSymbiosis Between Birds and Feather Mites
Feather mites living on bird feathers are not so much harmful parasites as symbionts that have evolved together with their hosts over a long time. The lab investigates the history of coevolution between feather mites and grasshopper warblers (Helopsaltes), such as Middendorff's Grasshopper Warbler.
*Illustrative imageMigration of the Chestnut-cheeked Starling
The lab launched the "Chestnut-cheeked Starling Migration Project" to study the migratory behavior of Chestnut-cheeked Starlings in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region. GPS data can be collected by anyone using an app, so the project is designed to let citizens take part.
*Illustrative imageThe Okinawa Woodpecker and Owls
The Okinawa Woodpecker, endemic to Okinawa Island, can excavate its own tree cavities. For owls, which cannot excavate cavities, the lab examines whether the presence or absence of the Okinawa Woodpecker may have shaped the evolution of their morphology and behavior.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Field Ornithology Lab consist of faculty and students in the doctoral program, the master's program, and the undergraduate program.As of 2026
- ProfessorMasaoki Takagi
- Assistant ProfessorAkira Sawada
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Otus elegans from iNaturalist photo” WeitingLiu (weitingliu) / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Ryukyu Scops Owl: “Minami Daito Jima ISS002” NASA Johnson Space Center / Public domain (cropped)
- Symbiosis Between Birds and Feather Mites: “MA I162483 TePapa Kiwialges-haastii-Bishop full 02 (cropped)” Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Migration of the Chestnut-cheeked Starling: “Sturnus philippensis” M.Nishimura / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- The Okinawa Woodpecker and Owls: “Dendrocopos noguchii nest” Wouter Koch / CC0 (cropped)
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（仲岡雅裕・伊佐田智規） ): “Zostera marina - iNaturalist.org(1)” Brew, John / CC BY 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (早川研究室): “013 Alpha male chimpanzee at Kibale forest National Park Photo by Giles Laurent” Giles Laurent / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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（RTNakano Lab） ): “-Chlorophytum comosum-02” Wildfeuer / CC BY 2.5 (cropped)
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