Migratory birds can be divided into three categories: summer birds, winter birds, and traveling birds. Of course, which birds belong to which category depends on the location we are using as our reference point, but let's look at this using Japan as our reference point.
Summer birds
Summer birds are birds that migrate from Southeast Asia to Japan in the spring, lay their eggs, and then fly south again in the autumn. Examples include Swallows, Cuckoos, Gray-faced Buzzards, Oriental Honey Buzzards, and Japanese Paradise Flycatchers.
Photographs: Hiroshi Ichida
Winter birds
In autumn, wild geese and ducks that have finished breeding in Siberia come to Japan to spend the winter. These birds are called winter birds. Examples include Wild Geese, Wild Ducks, Swans, Cranes, and Bean Geese.
Photographs: Hiroshi Ichida
Traveling birds
Some birds breed in Siberia and in the autumn travel through Japan on their way to Australasia. Then in the spring they travel through Japan on their way back to Siberia. Because they pass through Japan for short periods only in spring and autumn, these birds are called traveling birds. These traveling birds include certain species of shorebirds. The globe in this edition of Earthrium shows the migratory ranges of these shorebirds. The various species of shorebirds are distributed throughout the world but generally fly from north to south and vice versa. You can see how their migratory ranges vary slightly depending on their longitude.
Photographs: Hiroshi Ichida
Incidentally, birds that can be seen in the same habitat throughout the year are called "resident birds." Examples in Japan include Sparrows, Pigeons, and Crows.
These categories are different from region to region. For example, the Demoiselle Crane, which is famous for crossing the Himalayan mountains, is a summer bird in Russia and Mongolia, but a winter bird in India and Pakistan.