The cadmium (Cd) content in the kidneys and livers of wild birds was compared after classification based on the type of migration and the breeding area. A high Cd content was detected in the organs of Pacific loons breeding in North America, but these birds were thought to have been affected by oil contamination. The Cd content of organs from spotbill ducks, which are birds that are resident in Japan, tended to be higher than those of other birds that breed outside Japan. The rank order of the mean Cd level with respect to location was "only in Eurasia" < "both Eurasia and North America" < "only in North America". The type of migration did not affect the Cd content of the organs. We also investigated the relationship between the Cd content of the organs and the Japanese environmental concentration of Cd. The Cd contents of organs from birds collected on the shore of the Japan Sea were generally higher than those of the birds collected near the Pacific Ocean. These results seem to be related to the concentration of Cd in the soil. From these results, we showed that the differences in the Cd content in organs from Japanese wild birds were related to their breeding area but not to the type of migration. Further, the area from which the wild birds were collected was strongly related to the Cd content of the organs. This demonstrated the relationship between the environmental and soil conditions in Japan and the level of pollution of the birds studied. © 2011 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.