Procellariidae
鹱科
hù kē

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 procellarids (fulmars, shearwaters, and petrels) do not appear to have well-established traditional names in Chinese. The current system of naming applies 鹱 hù to the Procellariidae and 海燕 hǎi-yàn 'sea swallow' to the Hydrobatidae. The word 鹱 hù is rare outside of modern Mainland sources.

Chinese appears to have gone through a stage of imitating English before this regularised naming system was arrived at. At an earlier stage, Chinese names, like English, divided the 'petrels' from the 'shearwaters'. According to a no-longer extant website:

• Some Chinese naturalists use 海燕 hǎi-yàn 'sea swallows' for the Procellariidae. This is rejected on the grounds that 海燕 hǎi-yàn should be applied only to the Hydrobatidae.
• Some naturalists apply the term 燕鹱 yàn-hù 'swallow shearwater' to Bulweria bulwerii.
• Some naturalists attempt to divide the Procellariinae into the ordinary 鹱 hù and the 剪水鹱 jiǎn-shuǐ-hù 'water-shearing hu', corresponding to the distinction between 'petrels' and 'shearwaters' in English.

While Mainland names are now completely regularised as 鹱 hù, the Taiwanese use 水薙鸟 shuǐ-tì-niǎo 'water shearing bird' for the shearwaters and 穴鸟 xué-niǎo 'hole bird' for the petrels, terms which are unmistakably derived from Japanese, although 'water-shearing bird' may ultimately be derived from English.

Mongolian: The Mongolian name for petrels and shearwaters in general is Салхич шувуу salkhich shuvuu. The petrels are also known as Далайн хараацай dalaiŋ kharaatsai 'sea swallow'. To distinguish the Hydrobatidae from the Procellariidae, this site adopts Далайн хараацай dalaiŋ kharaatsai 'sea swallow' for the Hydrobatidae and Салхич шувуу salkhich shuvuu for the Procellariidae.

Species names

ABOUT THIS TABLE

SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH		CHINESE			EAST		SOUTH	NORTH
Fulmarus
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Korean	Vietnamese	Mongolian
Fulmarus glacialis	Northern fulmar Fulmar	暴风鹱 (暴風鸌) bào-fēng hù 'storm shearwater' (2, 4) 暴雪鹱 (暴雪鸌) bào-xuě hù 'blizzard (?) shearwater' (1, 3, 5)		北方白腹穴鸟 (北方白腹穴鳥) běi-fāng bái-fù xué-niǎo 'northern white-bellied hole bird'	フルマカモメ (古間鴎) furuma kamome 'Furuma gull' (Furuma is a place and personal name in Japan)
Pterodroma
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Korean	Vietnamese	Mongolian
Pterodroma hypoleuca	Bonin Petrel Bonin Islands Petrel	白额圆尾鹱 (白額圓尾鸌) bái-é yuán-wěi hù 'white-foreheaded round-tailed shearwater' (2, 4, 5) 点额圆尾鹱 (點額圓尾鸌) diǎn-é yuán-wěi hù 'spot-foreheaded round-tailed shearwater' (1, 3)	(白腹穴鸟) 白腹穴鳥 bái-fù xué-niǎo 'white-bellied hole bird'	圆尾鹱 (圓尾鸌) yuán-wěi hù 'round-tailed shearwater'	シロハラミズナギドリ (白腹水薙鳥) shiro-hara mizu-nagi-dori 'white-bellied water-shearing bird'	흰배슴새 huin-bae-seum-sae 'white-bellied shearwater-bird'
Ardenna
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Korean	Vietnamese	Mongolian
Ardenna pacifica Puffinus pacificus Puffinus pacifica	Wedge-tailed shearwater	曳尾鹱 (曵尾鸌) yè-wěi hù 'drag-tailed shearwater'	(长尾水薙鸟) 長尾水薙鳥 cháng-wěi shuǐ-tì-niǎo 'long-tailed water-shearing bird'	楔尾鹱 (楔尾鸌) xiē-wěi hù 'wedge-tailed shearwater' (FS)	オナガミズナギドリ (尾長水薙鳥) o-naga mizu-nagi-dori 'long-tailed water-shearing bird'
Ardenna grisea Puffinus griseus	Sooty shearwater	灰鹱 (灰鸌) huī hù 'grey shearwater'	(灰水薙鸟) 灰水薙鳥 huī shuǐ-tì-niǎo 'grey water-shearing bird'		ハイイロミズナギドリ (灰色水薙鳥) hai-iro mizu-nagi-dori 'grey water-shearing bird'
Ardenna tenuirostris Puffinus tenuirostris	Short-tailed shearwater Slender-billed shearwater	短尾鹱 (短尾鸌) duǎn-wěi hù 'short-tailed shearwater'	(短尾水薙鸟) 短尾水薙鳥 duǎn-wěi shuǐ-tì-niǎo 'short-tailed water-shearing bird'	细嘴鹱 (細嘴鸌) xì-wěi hù 'slender-billed shearwater' (FS)	ハシボソミズナギドリ (嘴細水薙鳥) hashi-boso mizu-nagi-dori 'thin-billed water-shearing bird'	쇠부리슴새 soe-buri-seum-sae small-billed shearwater-bird'
Ardenna carneipes Puffinus carneipes	Flesh-footed shearwater Pale-footed shearwater	淡足鹱 (淡足鸌) dàn-zú hù 'pale-footed shearwater' (2, 4) 肉足鹱 (肉足鸌) ròu-zú hù 'flesh-footed shearwater' (3, 5)	(肉足水薙鸟) 肉足水薙鳥 ròu-zú shuǐ-tì-niǎo 'flesh-footed water-shearing bird'		アカアシミズナギドリ (赤足水薙鳥) aka-ashi mizu-nagi-dori 'red-legged water-shearing bird'	붉은발슴새 bulgeun-bal-seum-sae 'red-footed shearwater-bird'
Calonectris
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Korean	Vietnamese	Mongolian
Calonectris leucomelas Puffinus leucomelas	Streaked shearwater White-faced shearwater White-fronted shearwater	白额鹱 (白額鸌) bái-é hù 'white-foreheaded shearwater'	(大水薙鸟) 大水薙鳥 dà shuǐ-tì-niǎo 'large water-shearing bird'	大灰鹱 (大灰鸌) dà huī hù 'large grey shearwater' (FS)	オオミズナギドリ (大水薙鳥) ō mizu-nagi-dori 'large water-shearing bird'	슴새 seum-sae 'shearwater-bird'	Chim Hải âu mặt trắng 'white-faced hải âu (=gull) bird' (hải âu from Chinese 海鷗 hǎi'ōu 'seagull') (12, 13)	Inner M: Халзан салхич шувуу khalzan salikhch shuvuu 'bald wind bird' (31) or Мэдээч шувуу medeech shuvuu 'reporting/ spying bird' (alt in 31)
Pseudobulweria
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Korean	Vietnamese	Mongolian
Pseudobulweria rostrata Pterodroma rostrata	Tahiti petrel Peale's fulmar	钩嘴圆尾鹱 (鉤嘴圓尾鸌) gōu-zuǐ yuán-wěi hù 'hook-billed round-tailed shearwater'	(黑背白腹穴鸟) 黑背白腹穴鳥 hēi-bèi bái-fù xué-niǎo 'black-backed white-bellied hole bird'		セグロシロハラミズナギドリ (背黒白腹水薙鳥) se-guro shiro-hara mizu-nagi-dori 'black-backed white-bellied water-shearing bird'
Bulweria
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Korean	Vietnamese	Mongolian
Bulweria bulwerii	Bulwer's petrel	褐燕鹱 (褐燕鸌) hè yàn-hù 'brown swallow shearwater' (2, 4) 纯褐鹱 (純褐鸌) chún-hè hù 'pure brown shearwater' (1, 3, 5)	(穴鸟) 穴鳥 xué-niǎo 'hole bird'	燕鹱 (燕鸌) yàn-hù 'swallow shearwater' (6, 7) 卜威氏海燕 (卜威海燕) bǔwēi-shì hǎi-yàn Mr Buwei's sea-swallow (Gee) (FS)	アナドリ (穴鳥) ana-dori 'hole bird'

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