Revised Japanese Names for Species of Owls (Strigiformes)

Abstract

Japanese names are a useful tool for Japanese speakers to communicate about birds. However, over 30 years have already passed since the most influential book treating all modern birds and providing Japanese names, “A World List of Birds” (Yamashina 1986), was published. During that time, the classification of birds has undergone major changes. Here we provide a revised list of Japanese names of owl species (Strigiformes) which adopts the latest classification system (Gill & Donsker 2017). When compiling our list, we paid attention to ensuring the stability, brevity and correctness of Japanese names.