Accipitridae / 鷹科 (Yīng kē)

General names

Chinese displays great richness in names for the Accipitrinae, but usage shows considerable confusion; modern Chinese speakers can exhibit nonchalant disregard for many distinctions.

The broad general term for hawks and eagles is 鷹 yīng. This is broader in meaning than English 'hawk' because it can be used in situations (e.g., for the eagle as the national symbol of the U.S., Germany, and Russia) where English could only use 'eagle'.

In a narrow sense, 鷹 yīng is used for the 'true hawks' (Accipiters), most commonly the goshawk, which is specifically known as the 蒼鷹 cāng-yīng ('blue hawk'). The sparrow hawk Accipiter nisus is known as 雀鷹 què-yīng ('sparrow/finch hawk') or (traditionally) 鷂 yào.

The large eagles are called 鵰 diāo or colloquially 老鵰 lǎo diāo. The eagles are also known as 鷲 jiù.

Other birds in the Accipitrinae include:

The Osprey is called 魚鷹 yú-yīng 'fish hawk' or 鹗 è.
Black kite or 鳶 yuān, supposedly also called 老鷹 lǎo-yīng ('old hawk').
Vultures, known as 禿鷲 tū-jiù or 兀鷲 wù-jiù, both meaning 'bald eagle'.
Buzzards, known as 鵟 kuáng. In ancient times this referred to an owl or a nightjar; its application to the buzzard appears to be from Japanese, which appropriated the character 鵟 to write the native word ノスリ nosuri 'buzzard'.

In practice, a number of these terms are moribund in the modern colloquial. Terms such as 鵰 diāo, 鷲 jiù, and 鳶 yuān are not always readily understood by non-specialists. Even where they are used, terms may be confused or poorly understood. The terms 鵰 diāo, 鷲 jiù, and 鷹 yīng tend to be lumped together. The terms 鷹 yīng and 鵰 diāo are used indiscriminately for almost any kind of hawk or eagle. The term 老鷹 lǎo-yīng ('old hawk'), supposedly meaning 'kite', is also loosely used as a general word for 'hawk' or 'eagle'. For instance, both an 'eagle' in golf and the musical group 'The Eagles' are referred to as 老鷹 lǎo-yīng in Chinese.

Usage in Taiwan also reveals some Japanese influence. For instance, the Taiwanese term for Hodgson's hawk eagle is 熊鷹 xióng-yīng ('bear hawk'), paralleling Japanese kuma-taka 熊鷹. The crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela) is called 大冠鷲 dà guàn-jiù ('great crested eagle') in Taiwan, similar to 冠鷲 kanmuri washi ('crested eagle') in Japanese.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, ornithologists on the Mainland have tried to tidy up the official names, and Taiwan is showing signs of following suit. The systematised 'common names' are as follows:

Under the reorganised names, 鵰 diāo is used for large eagles and 鷹 yīng for the hawks (Accipiter). 鷲 jiù is used for the vultures.

Sometimes systematisation runs counter to general usage.

Traditionally, 鵰 diāo and 鷲 jiù both mean 'eagle' or 'vulture'. The 1999 Cihai encyclopedia points out that 'in the old days eagles (diāo) were mistakenly called jiù, e.g., sea eagles were called hǎi-jiù'. With due respect to the Cihai, standard dictionaries of Mainland Chinese still commit this 'error', including the 1999 edition of the Xiandai Han'yu Xidian, which explicitly equates 鷲 jiù to 鵰 diāo.

The Sparrow hawk, Accipter nisus, is officially known as the 雀鷹 què-yīng. Traditionally it is known as the 鷂 yào (colloquially as the 鷂子 yàozi), although 鷂 yào has also popularly been applied to several other birds, including the Chinese goshawk (Accipiter soloensis), the Hen harrier (Circus cyaneus), and the Marsh harrier (Circus spilonotus). Mainland ornithologists resolve this by restricting 鷂 yào to the harriers (genus Circus), effectively relegating the main traditional meaning, Sparrow hawk, to the status of an erroneous 'popular' usage.

The reassignment of meanings also drives a wedge between Japanese and Chinese terminology. If the new usage becomes widely accepted, 鷲 will mean 'vulture' in Chinese and 'eagle' in Japanese, and 鷂 will mean 'harrier' in Chinese and 'sparrowhawk' in Japanese.

Species names

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PANDIONINAE SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH CHINESE JAPANESE OTHER Latin English Chinese (Taiwan) Chinese (Mainland) Other Ch Japanese Other J Korean Vietnamese Pandion                 Pandion haliaetus Osprey 魚鷹 yú-yīng 'fish hawk' 鶚 è 'osprey' or 魚鷹 yú-yīng 'fish hawk' (Alternative in 1, 5)   ミサゴ (鶚) misago 'osprey' ウオタカ (魚鷹) uo-taka 'fish hawk' ショキュウ (雎鳩) shokyū スドリ (州鳥) su-dori 'sand bank bird' 물수리 mul-suri 'water eagle' Ó cá 'fish eagle'

ACCIPITRINAE SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH CHINESE JAPANESE OTHER Latin English Chinese (Taiwan) Chinese (Mainland) Other Ch Japanese Other J Korean Vietnamese Aviceda                 Aviceda leuphotes Black baza Black-crested baza Black-crested lizard hawk 黑冠鵑隼 hēi-guàn juān-zhǔn 'black-crested cuckoo falcon' 黑冠鵑隼 hēi-guàn juān-sǔn 'black-crested cuckoo falcon'   クロカッコウハヤブサ (黒郭公隼) kuro kakkō-hayabusa 'black cuckoo falcon'     Diều mào 'crested dieu' Pernis                 Pernis ptilorhynchus Oriental honey buzzard Oriental honey-buzzard Crested honey buzzard Eurasian Honey Buzzard 東方蜂鷹 dōngfāng fēng-yīng 'eastern bee hawk' 鵰頭鷹 diāo-tóu-yīng 'eagle-headed hawk' (former official name) 鳳頭蜂鷹 fèng-tóu fēng-yīng 'phoenix-headed bee hawk' 八角鷹 bā-jiǎo-yīng 'eight-horned hawk' 蜜鷹 mì-yīng 'honey hawk' 蜂鷹 fēng-yīng 'bee hawk' 蜜鵟 mì-kuáng 'honey buzzard' ハチクマ (蜂角鷹 or 蜂熊) hachi-kuma 'bee bear' (written 'bee horned hawk' or 'bee bear' in characters)   벌매 beol-mae 'bee hawk' Diều ăn ong 'bee-eating dieu' Elanus                 Elanus caeruleus Black-winged kite Black-shouldered kite 黑翅鳶 hēi-chì yuān 'black-winged kite' 黑翅鳶 hēi-chì yuān 'black-winged kite'   カタグロトビ (肩黒鳶) kata-guro tobi 'black-shouldered kite'     Diều trắng 'white dieu' Milvus                 Milvus migrans Black kite 黑鳶 hēi yuān 'black kite' 老鷹 lǎo-yīng 'old hawk' (former official name) Note 黑鳶 hēi yuān 'black kite' or 鳶 yuān 'kite' (Alternative in 1, 5) 老鳶 lǎo yuān 'old kite' (south) 鷂鷹 yào-yīng 'yao hawk' (inf) (also means 'sparrow hawk', 'goshawk') 額力也 élìyě eliye (cf Mongolian элээ) (regional - northeast) トビ (鳶) tobi 'kite' トンビ (鳶) tonbi 'kite' 솔개 solgae 'solgae' Note Diều hâu 'dieu hau' Haliastur                 Haliastur indus Haliaeetus indus Brahminy kite 栗鳶 lì yuān 'chestnut kite' 栗鳶 lì yuān 'chestnut kite' 婆羅門神聖鳶 póluómén shén-shèng yuān 'Brahman sacred kite' 紅老鷹 hóng lǎo-yīng 'red old hawk' = 'red kite' 紅鷹 hóng yīng 'red hawk' シロガシラトビ (白頭鳶) shiro-gashira tobi 'white-headed kite'     Diều lửa 'flame dieu' Haliaeetus                 Haliaeetus leucogaster White-bellied sea eagle White-bellied sea-eagle White-bellied fish eagle 白腹海鵰 bái-fù hǎi-diāo 'white-bellied sea eagle' 白腹海鵰 bái-fù hǎi-diāo 'white-bellied sea eagle'   シロハラウミワシ (白腹海鷲) shiro-hara umi-washi 'white-bellied sea eagle'     Đại bàng biển bụng trắng 'white-bellied sea eagle' Haliaeetus albicilla White-tailed sea eagle White-tailed eagle 白尾海鵰 bái-wěi hǎi-diāo 'white-tailed sea eagle' 白尾鷲 bái-wěi jiù 'white-tailed eagle/vulture' (former official name) 白尾海鵰 bái-wěi hǎi-diāo 'white-tailed sea eagle' 白尾鵰 bái-wěi diāo 'white-tailed eagle' 潔白鵰 jié-bái diāo 'pure/clean white eagle' 芝麻鵰 zhīmá diāo 'sesame eagle' オジロワシ (尾白鷲) o-jiro washi 'white-tailed eagle'   흰꼬리수리 huin-kkori-suri 'white-tailed eagle'   Latin English Chinese (Taiwan) Chinese (Mainland) Other Ch Japanese Other J Korean Vietnamese Aegypius                 Aegypius monachus Cinereous vulture Monk vulture Black vulture 禿鷲 tū-jiù 'bald vulture' 禿鷲 tū-jiù 'bald vulture' 狗頭鵰 gǒu-tóu-diāo 'dog-headed eagle' 座山鵰 zuò-shān-diāo 'sit mountain eagle' クロハゲワシ (黒禿鷲) kuro hage-washi 'black bald eagle'   독수리 dok-suri 'dok eagle' (meaning of dok unclear) Đại bàng đầu trọc 'bald-headed eagle' Spilornis                 Spilornis cheela Crested serpent eagle Crested serpent-eagle 大冠鷲 dà guàn-jiù 'great crested eagle/vulture' 蛇鵰 shé-diāo 'snake eagle' 鳳頭蛇鵰 fèng-tóu shé-diāo 'phoenix-headed snake-eagle' 鳳頭捕蛇鵰 fèng-tóu bǔ-shé-diāo 'phoenix-headed catch-snake-eagle' 横髻山鵰 héng-jì shān-diāo 'cross hair-bun mountain eagle' 白腹蛇鵰 bái-fù shé-diāo 'white-bellied snake eagle' 麻鷹 má yīng 'hemp hawk' カンムリワシ (冠鷲) kanmuri washi 'crested eagle'   관수리 gwan-suri 'crested eagle' Diều hoa Miến Điện 'Burmese flowery dieu' Circus                 Circus spilonotus Eastern marsh harrier Eastern marsh-harrier 東方澤鷂 dōngfāng zé-yào 'eastern marsh yao' 澤鵟 zé-kuáng 'marsh-buzzard' (former official name) 白腹鷂 bái-fù yào 'white-bellied yao' 澤鷂 zé yào 'marsh yao' (Alternative in 7) 白尾巴根子 bái-wěi bāgēnzi 'white-tailed bagenzi' チュウヒ (沢鵟) chūhi 'harrier' (written 'marsh buzzard')   개구리매 gaeguri-mae 'frog hawk' Diều đầu trắng 'white-headed dieu' Note Circus cyaneus Hen harrier or Northern harrier 灰澤鵟 huī zé-kuáng 'grey marsh-buzzard' 白尾鷂 bái-wěi yào 'white-tailed yao' 白抓 bái zhuā 'white grasper' 灰鷂 huī yào 'grey yao' 灰鷹 huī yīng 'grey hawk' 雞鵰 jī-diāo 'fowl eagle' 雞鵟 jī-kuáng 'fowl buzzard' ハイイロチュウヒ (灰色沢鵟) hai-iro chūhi 'grey harrier'   잿빛개구리매 jaetbit-gaeguri-mae 'grey-coloured frog hawk' Diều 'dieu' (13) Circus melanoleucos Pied harrier 花澤鵟 huā zé-kuáng 'flowery marsh-buzzard' 鵲鷂 què-yào 'magpie yao' 喜鵲鷹 xǐ-què yīng 'magpie hawk' 客鵲鷹 kè què yīng 'guest magpie hawk' 客鵲鷂 kè què yào 'guest magpie yao' 黑白花鵟 hēi-bái huā kuáng 'black-white flowery buzzard' マダラチュウヒ (斑沢鵟) madara chūhi 'pied harrier'   알락개구리매 allak-gaeguri-mae 'speckled frog hawk' Diều mướp 'tattered dieu' Latin English Chinese (Taiwan) Chinese (Mainland) Other Ch Japanese Other J Korean Vietnamese

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Accipitrinae 2