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Pnoepygidae
鹪鹛科
jiāo-méi kē

鷦眉科
jiāo-méi kē

サザイチメドリ科
sazai-chime-dori ka

프노이피가과
peunoipiga-gwa

Họ Khướư đất đuôi cụt

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General

Information is from dictionaries and other sources. Pinyin reflects Mandarin pronunciation; for some dialect names, it is no more than a polite fiction. Korean glosses are tentative. Comments and corrections welcome. Hover over Green Lettering Green lettering at this site hides a tool tip with glosses, further explanations, etc. Hover cursor to reveal. to see additional information.

The Pnoepygidae are a small family resulting from the split-up of the Timaliidae assemblage. (Others include the Timaliidae, Pellorneidae, Leiothrichidae, and Vireonidae, and parts of the Zosteropidae and Sylviidae.) The names of the Pnoepygidae are ornithological in nature.

Ornithological names

The earliest proposed Chinese names for the genus Pnoepyga (from Chinese Birds (35) published in 1927) used the name 鹪鹩 jiāoliáo 'wren' since they were regarded as 'wrens' (Troglodytidae).

The current name, 鹪鹛 jiāo-méi 'wren-babbler', is modelled on the English ornithological name 'wren-babbler', which arose as a result of a later assignment of the genus to the Timaliidae (babblers). The Chinese name is a two-character compound of the type favoured in Chinese. It consists of:

1. jiāo, the first character in 鹪鹩 jiāoliáo 'wren'. The name 鹪鹛 jiāo-méi 'wren-babbler' is shared with Napothera, a genus now assigned to the Pellorneidae.

2. méi, a relatively new general term equivalent to English 'babbler'. The origin of méi can be found in the well-known 画眉 huà-méi 'painted eyebrow' (Garrulax canorus, the Hwamei or Melodious Laughing-Thrush, now a member of the Leiothrichidae), where the second part of the name -- méi 'eyebrow' -- was repurposed as a general name for the babblers. The character used to write this new word, méi, is an interesting example of how new characters are created in Chinese: it combines méi 'eyebrow' with the bird radical .

Interestingly, a second term for 'wren-babbler' was created by combining the second character in the word for 'wren', liáo, with méi, giving 鹩鹛 liáo-méi. This is used for the genera Rimator (Pellorneidae), Spelaeornis, and Stachyris (both Timaliidae).

Species names

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Pnoepyga
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Pnoepyga immaculata Nepal Wren Babbler 尼泊尔鹪鹛
(尼泊爾鷦鶥)
níbó'ěr jiāo-méi
'Nepalese wren-babbler'
    ネパールサザイチメドリ
(ネパール鷦鷯知目鳥)
nepāru sazai chime-dori
'Nepalese wren babbler-bird' (Internet)
     
Pnoepyga albiventer
link to photo
Scaly-breasted wren-babbler
Scaly-breasted wren babbler
Greater wren babbler
Scaly-breasted Cupwing
鳞胸鹪鹛
(鱗胸鷦鶥)
lín-xiōng jiāo-méi
'scaly breasted wren-babbler' (1, 2, 3, 4, 36)
大鳞胸鹪鹛
(大鱗胸鷦鶥)
dà lín-xiōng jiāo-méi
'large scaly-breasted wren-babbler' (5)
or
大鳞鹪鹛
(大鱗鷦鶥)
dà lín-jiāo-méi
'large scaly wren-babbler' (alt in 5)
  白腹鹪鹛
(白腹鷦鶥)
bái-fù jiāo-méi
'white-bellied wren-babbler' (6)
ヒメサザイチメドリ
(姫鷦鷯知目鳥)
hime sazai chime-dori
'princess wren babbler-bird'
  Chim Khướư đất đuôi cụt
'short-tailed ground-babbler (bird)' (12, 34)
 
Pnoepyga pusilla
link to photo
Pygmy wren-babbler
Pygmy scaly-breasted wren babbler
Lesser wren babbler
Lesser Scaly-breasted Wren Babbler
Pygmy Cupwing
小鳞胸鹪鹛
(小鱗胸鷦鶥)
xiǎo lín-xiōng jiāo-méi
'small scale-breasted wren-babbler'
or
小鳞鹪鹛
(小鱗鷦鶥)
xiǎo lín-jiāo-méi
'small scaly wren-babbler' (alt in 1, 5)
  小鹪鹛
(小鷦鶥)
xiǎo jiāo-méi
'small wren-babbler' (6, 7)
タカサゴミソサザイ
(高砂鷦鷯)
takasago misosazai
'Taiwanese wren'
  Chim Khướư đất đuôi cụt Pigmi
'pygmy short-tailed ground-babbler (bird)' (12)
 

Бор bor as an adjective means either 'grey, brown, dun', or 'stubborn'. It is used in some bird names as a noun, including names for the nightjars, reed warblers, Reed Parrotbill, and leiothrix. The common thread is unclear, and the meaning likely differs according to the bird, with nightjars possibly being regarded as 'stubborn', and others as being 'small brownish birds'.

The word Шагшуурга shagshuurag has two main meanings in Mongolian: 'dew' or 'hoarfrost', and 'reed'. As a bird name, it is used in Шагшуурга бялзуухай shagshuurag byalzuukhai, which is the name of a kind of reed warbler and assigned to the genus Panurus in the most recent ornithological naming in Mongolia. In ornithological Inner Mongolian, it is used as a name for the babblers. The shortened form Шагшуур shagshuur is used for the bulbuls.

Originally classified as Pnoepyga pusilla, later reassigned to Pnoepyga albiventer.

中国鸟类种和亚种分类名录大全(修订版) 郑作新 著 科学出版社 北京 2000年
A Complete Checklist of Species and Subspecies of the Chinese Birds (Revised Edition) by Cheng Tso-Hsin, Science Press, Beijing 2000

中国鸟类分类与分布名录 主编:郑光美 科学出版社 北京 2005年
A Checklist on the Classification and Distribution of the Birds of China Chief editor: Zheng Guangmei, Science Press, Beijing 2005

中国鸟类野外手册(中文版)约翰・马敬能、卡伦・菲利普斯,合作者:荷芬奇,翻译:卢和芬 湖南教育出版社 长沙 2000年
A Field Guide to the Birds of China (Chinese translation) by John MacKinnon, Karen Phillipps, in collaboration with He Fen-qi, translated by Lu Hefen, Hunan Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Hunan Educational Press) Changsha 2000

世界鸟类分类与分布名录 主编:郑光美 科学出版社 北京 2002年
A Checklist on the Classification and Distribution of the Birds of the World Chief editor: Zheng Guangmei, Science Press, Beijing 2002

世界鸟类名称(拉丁文、汉文、英文对照)第二版 郑作新等 科学出版社 北京 2002年
Birds of the World (Latin, Chinese and English Names) 2nd ed. by Cheng Tso-Hsin et al, Science Press, Beijing 2002

中国鸟类分布名录 第二版 郑作新 科学出版社 北京 1976年
(Checklist of the Classification of Birds of China 2nd edition by Cheng Tso-Hsin, Science Press, Beijing 1976)

香港及華南鳥類(第六版)(翻譯成中文及重新修訂) 尹璉、費嘉倫、林超英 香港性徵特區政府新聞處政府印務局 1994年
Birds of Hong Kong and South China (6th edition, translated into Chinese and newly revised) by Clive Viney, Karen Phillipps, Lin Chaoying, Hong Kong Govt. Press 1994

Danh Lục Chim Việt Nam (In lần thứ hai) (Checklist of the Birds of Vietnam) Võ Quý, Nguyễn Cử, Nhà Xuất Bản Nông Nghiệp, Hà Nội 1999

Chim Việt Nam Nguyễn Cử, Lê Trọng Trải, Karen Phillipps; Nhà Xuất Bản Lao Động - Xã Hội, 2000

汉蒙名词术语分类词典(自然科学部分) Mongolian (Cyrillic): Хятад Монгол нэр томъёоны зүйл хуваасан толь (байгалийн шинжлэх ухааны бүлэг) (Chinese-Mongolian classified terminological dictionary, natural sciences part) by 《汉蒙名词术语分类词典》编纂委员会 Mongolian (Cyrillic): "Хятад Монгол нэр томъёоны зүйл хуваасан толь" найруулах комисс (Chinese-Mongolian classified terminological dictionary editorial committee), Inner Mongolian People's Press, Hohhot 1990.

Danh Lục Các Loài Chim ở Việt Nam (Latinh, Việt, Pháp, Hán) Trần Văn Chánh 2008-2009

Chinese Birds (A Tentative List of Chinese Birds) 中國鳥類(中國鳥類目錄試編) N. Gist Gee, Lacy I. Moffett, G. D. Wilder (祁天錫, 慕維德, 萬卓志), Peiping, 1927 (reprinted 1948)

中国观鸟年报-中国鸟类名录 1.1 (The CBR Checklist of Birds of China v1.1) 中国观鸟年报 (China Bird Review), 2010

御製五體清文鑑 (yùzhì wǔtǐ qīngwén jiàn) Cyrillic: Хааны бичсэн таван зүилийн үсгээр хавсарсан манж үгний толь бичиг (Mirror of the Manchu language with an overview of five different languages, compiled by the Emperor OR Imperial Pentaglot Manchu Mirror). In three volumes. 民族出版社 1957. Originally completed around 1790, published by 1805.