General
Information is based on dictionaries and other sources. Pinyin readings reflect standard Mandarin usage; for some dialect alternative names it may be of little practical use, especially for South China. Many Korean glosses are highly tentative. Comments and corrections welcome.
The pelican goes by a number of names in Chinese. The standard name is 鹈鹕 , occasionally seen as 鹈鹕鸟 'pelican bird'. Others are:
- 塘鹅 'pond goose' (possibly Southern)
- 淘河 'dredge river'
- 犁鹕 'plough pelican', possibly interpretable as 'plough lake'
- 伽蓝鸟 'temple bird'
Apart from the long-attested 伽蓝鸟 , what is remarkable about the above names is that all are reminiscent of 鹈鹕 , modified in ways suggestive of folk etymology.
塘鹅 'pond goose' is reasonably common, but many standard Mainland dictionaries make an effort to exclude it. It appears to be somewhat more common in Taiwan, where efforts to enforce 'standard' or 'northern' usage are not so strongly in evidence.
Species names
SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH |
CHINESE |
EAST |
SOUTH | NORTH |
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| Pelacanus | ||||||||
Latin |
English | Chinese |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
Mongolian |
Pelecanus onocrotalus |
Great white pelican Eastern white pelican White pelican Rosy pelican |
白鹈鹕 (白鵜鶘) 'white pelican' |
モモイロペリカン (桃色ペリカン) momo-iro perikan 'pink pelican' |
Chim Bồ nông chân hồng 'rosy-legged pelican (bird)' or Lềnh đềnh chân hồng 'rosy-legged pelican (bird)' |
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| Pelecanus philippensis |
Spot-billed
pelican Grey pelican Spotted billed pelican |
斑嘴鹈鹕 (斑嘴鵜鶘) 'stripe-billed pelican' |
(灰鹈鹕) 灰鵜鶘 'grey pelican' |
ハイイロペリカン (灰色ペリカン) hai-iro perikan 'grey pelican' |
Chim Bồ nông chân xám 'grey-legged pelican (bird)' or Lềnh đềnh chân xám 'grey-legged pelican (bird)' |
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| Pelecanus crispus |
Dalmatian pelican | 卷羽鹈鹕 (卷羽鵜鶘) 'curly feathered pelican'  Note |
(卷羽鹈鹕) 卷羽鵜鶘 'curly feathered pelican' |
鹈鹕 (鵜鶘) 'pelican' 菲律宾鹈鹕 (菲律賓鵜鶘) 'Philippine pelican' |
ニシハイイロペリカン (西灰色ペリカン) nishi hai-iro perikan 'western grey pelican' (Wikipedia) |
사다새 sada-sae 'sada-bird' |
Bồ nông trắng đốm đen 'black-spotted white pelican' (from Cites list on Internet) |
Борцгор хотон bortsgor khotoŋ 'bortsgor pelican' |
