General names
This list should be regarded as being 'in beta'. Information is based on dictionaries and other sources. Many Kazakh, Turkish, and Korean glosses are highly tentative. Comments and corrections welcome.
The general Mongolian word for 'heron' is Дэглий deglii, with variant forms Дэглэй deglei and Тэглэй teglei. The name Цагаан дэглий tsagaaŋ deglii 'white heron' is used in a general sense for white herons or egrets. The term Дэвлээ devlee is used for a kind of small heron described as "similar to the Grey Heron". Зашин zashiŋ is used for the Night Heron.
The Eurasian Bittern is known as Бух шувуу bukh shuvuu or 'bull bird' (Бух bukh = 'bull' for short), a reference to the male's booming call.
The Buryat word for heron is Дэглы degli.
Цагаан дэглий tsagaaŋ deglii 'white heron' is the name of a mountain in Western Mongolia.
Regularised names:
The original official list of ardeid names made use of only two names: Бух bukh for Botaurus and one other bittern; Дэглий deglii for all the rest. In an attempt to give each genus a unique name, the 2007 bird list casts the net wider:
| Genus | Old | New |
| Botaurus (Bitterns) | Бух bukh |
Бухшувуу bukh-shuvuu 'bull-bird' |
| Ixobrychus (Little Bitterns) | Бух bukh; Дэглий deglii |
Одойбух odoi-bukh 'dwarf-bull' |
| Nycticorax (Night Herons) | Дэглий deglii |
Зашин zashiŋ |
| Butorides (Heron) | Дэглэй deglei |
|
| Ardeola (Pond Herons) | Дэглий deglii |
Дэвлээ devlee |
| Bubulcus (Cattle Egret) | Дэгэл degel |
|
| Ardea (Herons) | Дэглий deglii |
Дэглий deglii |
| Egretta (Egrets) | Дэглий deglii |
Дэглээ deglee |
In an attempt to distinguish the genus Butorides, the list adopts the name Дэглэй deglei, which is merely a variant on the term Дэглий deglii. The egrets (including Egretta alba) are given the name Дэглээ deglee, an irregular spelling of Дэглэй deglei. The Cattle Egret has been given a further variant, Дэгэл degel, a backformation from Дэглий deglii. It remains to be seen whether these expedients will result in greater clarity or increased confusion.
Species names
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