Japanese Bush Warbler

The Japanese bush warbler is a small, secretive songbird with olive-brown upperparts, dusky paler underparts and a pale eyebrow. Adults measure roughly 14–15.5 centimetres, with females averaging smaller than males. The slightly upcurved bill contributes to a distinctive facial expression, but the bird is usually identified first by its piercing, far-carrying spring song because it remains concealed in thick vegetation (Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Wikipedia, general species account).

Across its native range it breeds in dense low cover from sea level to about 3,000 metres, including dwarf bamboo, forest undergrowth, coastal scrub and streamside shrubs. It usually forages singly or in pairs near the ground, taking mainly insects during the breeding season and adding fruit in autumn and winter. The nest is normally hidden in a shrub or bamboo less than one metre above ground (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, life-history account).