General names
Information is based on dictionaries and other sources. Comments and corrections welcome.
The Muscicapidae are good example of the artificiality of modern bird naming in Chinese. According to the official names, the robins and related species (Saxicolinae) are mostly known by the term 鴝 and the flycatchers (Muscicapinae) by the term 鶲 . Neither is used on its own; each usually forms part of a larger word. The overall assignment of naming is as follows:
| Name | Gloss | Genera |
| 鴝 |
'robin' | Robins (Luscinia) Chats (Saxicola) Robin (Myiomela) Magpie Robin (Copsychus) Redstarts (Phoenicurus, Rhyacornis, Chaimarrornis) |
| 剪尾 |
'cut tail' | Forktail (Enicurus) |
| 䳭 |
'ji' (originally wagtail) | Wheatears (Oenanthe) |
| 磯鶇 |
'rock thrush' | Rock Thrushes (Monticola) |
| 鶲 |
'flycatcher' | Flycatchers (Muscicapa) Canary Flycatchers (Culicicapa) Verditer Flycatcher (Eumyias) Flycatchers (Ficedula) Jungle Flycatcher (Rhinomyias) |
| 琉璃 |
'lapis lazuli' | Blue-and-White Flycatcher (Cyanoptila) Niltava |
The problem with 鴝 and 鶲 is that neither appears to be deeply grounded in Chinese tradition.
The character 鶲 is a character without a history -- not even major dictionaries have ancient citations for it. Obunsha's Kanwa Jiten explicitly points out that 鶲 in the sense of 'flycatcher' is a Japanese usage. That is, 鶲 is an old Chinese character for some unspecified kind of bird that was pressed into service to represent the Japanese word hitaki 'flycatcher' precisely because Chinese lacked an appropriate character for it. If this is true, the use of 鶲 for 'flycatcher' is not an original Chinese usage; it is an import from Japanese.
The character 鴝 is even more curious. In traditional usage, 鴝 was merely part of the word 鴝鵒 meaning 'mynah'. It was not normally used as a word in its own right. How it came to be applied to the robins is something of a mystery. The conventional, non-technical translation of 'robin' in Chinese is not 鴝 but 知更鳥 'zhigeng bird'.
The answer may again lie in Japanese. The Japanese names of the robins are based on the name 駒鳥 koma-dori (Luscinia akahige). Koma-dori literally means 'pony bird', a name that supposedly derives from the similarity of its call to a horse's whinnying. The character 駒 means 'horse' or 'pony'; the left half is the radical for 'horse'. This Japanese name already existed in the 19th century when Temminck used it as the basis for the scientific name Luscinia komadori, although Temminck got akahige and komadori mixed up, thus reversing the names. At some stage in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, many Japanese bird names were borrowed into Chinese in their written form, and it would not be unusual if those of the robins were borrowed, too. However, the use of 駒 ('pony') for a small bird would have struck the Chinese as incongruous. The possibility thus suggests itself that the Chinese substituted 鴝 (from the literary word for 'mynah') for 駒 ('pony'). In the written language, this would merely entail swapping the bird radical for the horse radical. The name of Luscinia calliope, 野鴝 'wild robin', is especially suggestive in this regard. Apart from the substitution of 鴝 for 駒, the Taiwanese name is identical to the Japanese one.
Looking at other names in the lineup, Oenanthe is a relative newcomer to Taiwanese bird lists, and the name given to the genus, 䳭 , is based on the official Mainland name of the chats and wheatears. It's not clear, however, why 䳭 was applied to the chats; 䳭 is traditionally an alternative form of the character 鹡 , which is part of the word for 'wagtail' (鶺鴒 ).
The remaining names are less mysterious. 琉璃 'lapis lazuli' is from Japanese. 磯鶇 for the rock thrushes, which were not originally classed here, may be a translation from English. 剪尾 'cut tail' for the forktail is transparent in meaning, although the Taiwanese name is different from the Mainland name in this case.
2. Species names
| SAXICOLINAE | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH |
CHINESE |
JAPANESE |
OTHER |
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Latin |
English |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Chinese (Mainland) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Other J |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
| Luscinia | ||||||||
| Luscinia akahige Erithacus akahige  |
Japanese robin | 日本歌鴝 'Japanese song robin' |
日本歌鴝 'Japanese song robin' or 歌鴝 'song robin' (Alternative in 1, 5) |
夜鶯 'night warbler' (literary) |
コマドリ (駒鳥) koma-dori 'koma -bird' |
붉은가슴울새 bulgeun-gaseum-ul-sae 'red-breasted ul bird' |
Oanh 'robin' (13) Not found in 12 |
|
| Luscinia komadori Erithacus komadori |
Ryukyu robin Riukiu robin |
琉球歌鴝 'Ryukyu song robin' |
琉球歌鴝 'Ryukyu song robin' |
アカヒゲ (赤髭) aka-hige 'red-beard' |
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| Luscinia svecica Luscinia svecicus Erithacus svecicus |
Bluethroat | 藍喉鴝 'blue-throated robin' |
藍喉歌鴝 'blue-throated song robin' or 藍點頦 'blue-dot chin' (Alternative in 1, 3, 5) |
藍靛頦兒 'blue dianker' 點頦 'dot chin' (also used for L. calliope) 藍脖 'blue throat' 九圈領 'nine ring collar' 藍秸 'blue stalk/straw' 蘆槁鳥 'reed withered bird' (Also used for L. calliope) 藍膀 'blue wing' (juvenile) |
オガワコマドリ (小川駒鳥) Ogawa koma-dori 'Ogawa koma -bird' |
흰눈썹울새 huin-nunsseob-ul-sae 'white-eyebrowed ul bird' |
Oanh cổ xanh 'blue-throated robin' |
|
| Luscinia calliope Erithacus calliope |
Siberian rubythroat | 野鴝 'wild robin' |
紅喉歌鴝 'red-throated song robin' or 紅點頦 'red-dot chin' (Alternative in 1, 3, 5) |
紅靛頦兒 'red dianker' 紅頦 'red chin' 點頦 'dot chin' (also used for L. svecica) 白點頦 'white-dot chin' 紅脖 'red throat' 蘆槁鳥 'reed withered bird' (also used for L. svecica) |
ノゴマ (野駒) no-goma 'field-koma' |
ヒノマル (日の丸) hinomaru 'hinomaru' (Japanese flag) ノドアカ (喉赤) nodo-aka 'red-throat' |
진홍가슴 jin-hong-gaseum 'true (?) red-breast' |
Oanh cổ đỏ 'red-throated robin' |
| Luscinia cyane Erithacus cyane |
Siberian blue robin | 藍歌鴝 'blue song robin' |
藍歌鴝 'blue song robin' |
藍鴝 'blue robin' 青鴝 'blue robin' 小玻璃 'small glass' (mistake for 琉璃 ? -- see Japanese name) 黑老婆兒 'black wife' 藍尾巴根子 'blue-tailed bagenzi' 輕尾兒 'light-tail' (possibly 青尾兒 'blue-tail') |
コルリ (小瑠璃 or 小琉璃) ko-ruri 'small lapis lazuli' |
쇠유리새 soe-yuri-sae 'small lapis lazuli bird' |
Oanh lưng xanh 'blue-backed robin' |
|
| Luscinia indica Tarsiger indicus Erithacus indicus |
White-browed bush robin White-browed bush-robin |
白眉林鴝 'white-browed forest robin' |
白眉林鴝 'white-browed forest robin' |
キクチヒタキ (菊池?鶲) Kikuchi hitaki 'Kikuchi flycatcher' |
Oanh đuôi nhọn mày trắng 'white-browed sharp-tailed robin' |
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| Luscinia johnstoniae Tarsiger johnstoniae Erithacus johnstoniae |
Collared bush robin Collared bush-robin Taiwan bush robin |
栗背林鴝 'chestnut-backed forest robin' |
台灣林鴝 'Taiwan forest robin' |
アリサンヒタキ (アリ山鶲) Ari-san hitaki 'Mt Ali flycatcher' |
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| Luscinia cyanura Tarsiger cyanurus Erithacus cyanurus |
Orange-flanked bush robin Red-flanked bluetail Red-flanked bush robin Siberian bluechat |
藍尾鴝 'blue-tailed robin' |
紅脇藍尾鴝 'red-flanked blue-tailed robin' |
青鶲 'blue flycatcher' 藍尾歐鴝 'blue-tailed European robin' 青尾兒 'blue tail' (see L. cyane) |
ルリビタキ (瑠璃鶲 or 琉璃鶲) ruri-bitaki 'lapis lazuli flycatcher' |
유리딱새 yuri-ttak-sae 'lapis lazuli ttak bird' |
Oanh đuôi lưng cụt xanh 'blue-backed short-tailed robin' Oanh sườn hung 'reddish-flanked robin' (13) |
|
| Luscinia sibilans Erithacus sibilans |
Rufous-tailed robin Swinhoe's robin Red-tailed robin Swinhoe's red-tailed Robin |
紅尾歌鴝 'red-tailed song robin' |
紅尾歌鴝 'red-tailed song robin' |
シマゴマ (島駒) shima-goma 'island koma' |
울새 ul-sae 'ul bird' |
Oanh cổ trắng 'white-throated robin' Oanh đuôi đỏ 'red-tailed robin' (13) |
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Latin |
English |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Chinese (Mainland) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Other J |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
| Copsychus | ||||||||
| Copsychus saularis |
Oriental magpie-robin Magpie robin |
鵲鴝 'magpie robin' |
鵲鴝 'magpie robin' |
信鳥 'message bird?' 進鳥 'enter bird?' 屎坑雀 'shit hole/pit finch/sparrow' (Cantonese) 四喜 'four happiness' |
シキチョウ (四季鳥) shiki-chō 'four-season bird' |
Chích chòe 'chich choe' |
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| Phoenicurus | ||||||||
| Phoenicurus ochruros |
Black redstart | 赭紅尾鴝 'reddish-brown red-tailed robin' |
赭紅尾鴝 'reddish-brown red-tailed robin' |
クロジョウビタキ (黒尉鶲) kuro jō-bitaki 'black jo flycatcher' |
검은머리딱새 geomeun-meori-ttak-sae 'black-headed ttak bird' |
Đuôi đỏ núi đá trán đen 'black-forehead rocky mountain red-tail' |
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| Phoenicurus auroreus |
Daurian redstart | 黃尾鴝 'yellow-tailed robin' |
北紅尾鴝 'northern red-tailed robin' |
花紅燕兒 'flowery red swallow' 花紅燕 'flowery red swallow' 大紅燕 'large red swallow' 火燕 'fire swallow' 茶鶲 'tea (brown) flycatcher' 朗鶲 'bright flycatcher' 穿馬褂 'wear jacket (magua = a kind of jacket originally worn by the Manchus) 灰頂茶鴝 'grey-headed brown robin' 灰頂紅茶鴝 'grey-headed red-brown robin' 灰頂紅尾鴝 'grey-headed red-tailed robin' |
ジョウビタキ (尉鶲, also 常鶲, 上鶲) jō-bitaki 'jo flycatcher' (characters mean 'officer', 'always', and 'above' respectively. Read as 'officer', this is an irregular reading). |
モンツキドリ (紋付き鳥) mon-tsuki-dori 'bird with insignia/crest' (refers to white patch on wing) |
딱새 ttak-sae 'ttak bird' |
Đuôi đỏ núi đá trán xám 'grey-forehead rocky mountain red-tail' Đuôi đỏ Daurian 'Daurian red-tail' (13) |
| Rhyacornis | ||||||||
| Rhyacornis fuliginosa Rhyacornis fuliginosus Phoenicurus fuliginosus |
Plumbeous water redstart Plumbeous water-redstart Plumbeous redstart |
鉛色水鶇 'lead-coloured water thrush' |
紅尾水鴝 'red-tailed water robin' |
鉛色鶲 'lead-coloured flycatcher' 鉛色水鶲 'lead-coloured water flycatcher' 燕石青兒 'swallow stone blue/black' 溪紅尾 'brook red-tail' |
カワビタキ (川鶲) kawa-bitaki 'river flycatcher' |
부채꼬리바위딱새 buchae-kkori-bawi-ttak-sae 'fan-tailed crag ttak bird' |
Đuôi đỏ đầu xám 'grey-headed red-tail' Đuôi đỏ xanh 'blue red-tail' (13) |
|
| Chaimarrornis | ||||||||
| Chaimarrornis leucocephalus Phoenicurus leucocephalus |
White-capped water redstart White-capped water-redstart River chat |
白頂溪鴝 'white-capped brook robin' |
白頂溪鴝 'white-capped brook robin' |
白頂水鶲 'white-capped water flycatcher' 白頂鶲 'white-capped flycatcher' 白頂溪紅尾 'white-capped brook red-tail' |
シロボウシカワビタキ (白帽子川鶲) shiro-bōshi kawa-bitaki 'white-hatted river flycatcher' |
흰머리바위딱새 huin-meori-bawi-ttak-sae 'white-headed crag ttak bird' |
Đuôi đỏ đầu trắng 'white-headed red-tail' |
|
| Myiomela | ||||||||
| Myiomela leucura Cinclidium leucurum |
White-tailed robin White-tailed blue robin |
白尾鴝 'white-tailed robin' |
白尾藍鴝 'white-tailed blue robin' (1, 2, 3, 5) or 白尾藍地鴝 'white-tailed blue ground robin' (1, 3, 5) 白尾地鴝 'white-tailed ground robin' (4) |
白尾斑地鴝 'white-tailed striped ground robin' (6, 7) |
コンヒタキ (紺鶲) kon hitaki 'dark-blue flycatcher' |
Oanh đuôi trắng 'white-tailed robin' |
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| Enicurus | ||||||||
| Enicurus scouleri |
Little forktail | 小剪尾 'small cut-tail' |
小燕尾 'small swallow-tail' |
シロクロシキチョウ (白黒四季鳥) shiro-kuro shiki-chō 'black and white four-season bird' |
Chích chòe nước nhỏ 'small water chich choe' |
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| Saxicola | ||||||||
| Saxicola torquatus Saxicola torquata |
Common stonechat Stonechat Common bushchat Siberian stonechat |
黑喉鴝 'black-throated robin' |
黑喉石䳭 'black-throated stone chat' |
ノビタキ (野鶲) no-bitaki 'field flycatcher' |
검은딱새 geomeun-ttak-sae 'black ttak bird' |
Sẻ bụi đầu đen 'black-headed dusty-sparrow' |
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| Saxicola ferreus Saxicola ferrea |
Grey bushchat | 灰叢鴝 'grey thicket robin' |
灰林䳭 'grey forest chat' |
ヤマザキヒタキ (山崎鶲) Yamazaki hitaki 'Yamazaki flycatcher' |
Sẻ bụi xám 'grey bush-sparrow' |
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Latin |
English |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Chinese (Mainland) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Other J |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
| Oenanthe | ||||||||
| Oenanthe isabellina |
Isabelline wheatear | 沙䳭 'sand chat' |
沙䳭 'sand chat' |
イナバヒタキ (因幡鶲) Inaba hitaki 'Inaba flycatcher' |
긴다리사막딱새 gin-dari-samak-ttak-sae 'long-legged desert ttak bird' |
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| Oenanthe oenanthe |
Northern wheatear Wheatear |
穗䳭 'grainear chat' |
穗䳭 'grainear chat' |
ハシグロヒタキ (嘴黒鶲) hashi-guro hitaki 'black-billed flycatcher' |
북방사막딱새 bukbang-samak-ttak-sae 'northern desert ttak bird' |
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| Oenanthe deserti |
Desert wheatear | 漠䳭 'desert chat' |
漠䳭 'desert chat' |
サバクヒタキ (砂漠鶲) sabaku-hitaki 'desert flycatcher' |
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| Monticola | ||||||||
| Monticola solitarius |
Blue rock thrush Blue rock-thrush |
藍磯鶇 'blue rock thrush' |
藍磯鶇 'blue rock thrush' |
水嘴 'water mouth' 麻石青 'hemp stone blue/black' 石鶇 'rock thrush' 磯鶇 'rock thrush' |
イソヒヨドリ (磯鵯) iso-hiyo-dori 'rock bulbul' |
Many regional names (see Hiraizumi - Japanese site) | 바다직박구리 bada-jikbakguri 'sea (?) jikbakguri' |
Hoét đá 'rock thrush' |
| Monticola gularis Petrophila gularis |
White-throated rock thrush White-throated rock-thrush Blue-headed rock thrush |
白喉磯鶇 'white-throated rock thrush' |
白喉磯鶇 'white-throated rock thrush' (2, 3, 4) 藍頭磯鶇 'blue-headed rock thrush' (1, 5)  Note |
紅喉磯鶇 'red-throated rock thrush' 白喉石鶇 'white-throated stone thrush' 虎皮翠 'tiger skin kingfisher' 葫蘆翠 'gourd kingfisher' |
ヒメイソヒヨ (姫磯鵯) hime iso-hiyo 'princess rock bulbul' |
꼬까직박구리 kkokka-jikbakguri 'kkokka jikbakguri' |
Hoét đá họng trắng 'white-throated rock thrush' |
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Latin |
English |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Chinese (Mainland) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Other J |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
Floating Menu by Milonic |
Tool tips by Walter Zorn |
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