General names
Information is based on dictionaries and other sources. Comments and corrections welcome.
Chinese has a rich variety of names for the Accipitridae, 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 . This is broader in meaning than English 'hawk' and can be used in situations (e.g., for the eagle as the national symbol of the U.S., Germany, and Russia) where English would use only 'eagle'.
In a narrow sense, 鷹 is used for the 'true hawks' (Accipiters), most commonly the goshawk, which is specifically known in Chinese as the 蒼鷹 ('darkblue hawk'). The Sparrow hawk Accipiter nisus is known as 雀鷹 ('sparrow hawk') or (traditionally) 鷂 .
The large eagles are known as 鵰 or colloquially 老鵰 . The eagles are also known as 鷲 .
Other birds in the Accipitrinae include:
The Osprey is called 魚鷹 'fish hawk' or 鹗 .
Kites are known as 鳶 or 老鷹 (literally 'old hawk').
Vultures are known as 禿鷲 or 兀鷲 , both meaning 'bald-eagle'.
Buzzards are known as 鵟 . In ancient times this referred to an owl or a nightjar; its application to the buzzard appears to be an importation 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 or used with quite broad meanings in the modern colloquial. Terms such as 鵰 , 鷲 , and 鳶 are not necessarily readily understood in everyday usage. Even where they are used, usage may be confused. The terms 鵰 , 鷲 , and 鷹 tend not to be differentiated in most people's minds. The terms 鷹 and 鵰 are used indiscriminately for almost any kind of hawk or eagle. The term 老鷹 ('old hawk'), supposedly meaning 'kite' in traditional usage, is in fact a loose general word for 'hawk' or 'eagle'. Indeed, the English term 'eagle' in golf and the musical group 'The Eagles' are referred to in Chinese as 老鷹 .
Usage in Taiwan reveals some Japanese influence. For instance, the Taiwanese term for Hodgson's hawk eagle is 熊鷹 ('bear hawk'), paralleling Japanese kuma-taka 熊鷹. The crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela) is called 大冠鷲 ('great crested eagle') in Taiwan, similar to 冠鷲 kanmuri washi ('crested eagle') in Japanese.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mainland ornithologists have tried to tidy up the official names, and Taiwan is showing signs of following suit. The systematised 'common names' are as follows:
| Genus | Taiwan | Taiwan (new) | Mainland |
| Aegypius (vultures) | 鷲 | -- | 鷲 |
| Spilornis (serpent-eagle) | 鷲 | -- | 鵰 |
| Butastur (buzzard eagles) | 鷲 | 鵟鷹 | 鵟鷹 |
| Haliaeetus (sea eagles) | 鵰 / 鷲 / | 鵰 | 鵰 |
| Aquila (eagles) | 鵰 | -- | 鵰 |
| Spizaetus | 鷹 | -- | 鵰 |
| Pernis (honey buzzard) | 鷹 | -- | 鷹 |
| Accipiter (hawks) | 鷹 | -- | 鷹 |
| Elanus/Milvus/Haliastur (kites) | 老鷹 | 鳶 | 鳶 |
| Buteo (buzzards) | 鵟 | -- | 鵟 |
| Circus (harriers) | 澤鵟 | 澤鵟 / 澤鷂 | 鷂 |
Under the reorganised names, 鵰 is used for large eagles, 鷹 for the hawks (Accipiter), and 鷲 for the vultures.
Species names
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Floating Menu by Milonic |
Tool tips by Walter Zorn |
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