Language: Japanese witn English and scientific nomenclature
Produced by father-and-son duo Osao and Michiaki Ujihara, well known amongst gull enthusiasts for their website on the identification of Siberian and Pacific gulls, this is a pocket-sized guide to the ducks of Japan. All 43 duck species reported in Japan are covered, plus three expected species. The guide features short texts, less than two pages per species, and include a few lines on status, followed by a brief outline of each plumage. Nearly three-quarters of the book is devoted to accurate illustrations (Osao has drawn the dabbling ducks and Michiaki the diving ducks) detailing every feather. For almost every species at least eight large drawings showing the various plumages is given, and a half page is devoted to birds in flight. In addition, there are 2–3 pages of photographs, with 10–20 images, for each of the main species. A further section with a series of 35 photographs is devoted to gynandromorphy, where the plumage of some females includes male characters. Two chapters deal with hybridisation and include 60 illustrations and 46 photographs.
Summary in Japanese:
本書は、日本で見られるカモ類の種の識別に留まらず、年齢や性別に至るさらに一歩進んだ詳しい識別の手ほどきとなることを目指して構成されている。
また、巻頭には初心者にも使いやすいようにインデックスページを設け、すべての種の♂♀のイラストの一覧と簡単な解説によって、まず大まかな目星をつけられるように工夫している。
種のページでは、解説・分布図、イラストページ、写真ページと続き、多角的に詳しく識別のノウハウを学べる構成となっている。
前半に水面採餌ガモ類、後半に潜水採餌ガモ類を配置し、さらにそれぞれの末尾では雑種を取り上げた。
また♀や幼鳥の識別が特に難しいコガモとアメリカコガモ、ヒドリガモとアメリカヒドリについては、両種を比較しながら識別を詳しく取り上げるページを特別に設けている。
掲載種は、日本国内に生息、または観察例があると思われるカモ類46種に、絶滅種のカンムリツクシガモ、及び未記録のメガネケワタガモを加えた48種。
その他に未記録のアカシマアジ、ニシクロガモ、アメリカオシ、家禽のバリケンについても触れている。
"The [...] illustrations [...] are extremely accurate, detailing every feather, yet also realistic and elegant: perhaps the most beautiful plates ever for a guide on waterfowl. [...] While the text is in Japanese, each species is introduced by its scientific and English names, and the legend for each illustration includes, in addition to male and female symbols, an abbreviation denoting the plumage referred to (e.g. ‘br.’ for breeding, ‘ec.’ for eclipse.). So this book will certainly be of interest to birders in the west, particularly for the outstanding artwork and as a complement to Reeber’s recent Wildfowl of Europe, Asia and North America."
– Pierre Yésou, British Birds