General names
Information is based on dictionaries and other sources. Comments and corrections welcome.
The pelican goes by a number of names in Chinese. The standard common name is 鵜鶘 , occasionally seen as 鵜鶘鳥 'pelican bird'. Others are:
- 塘鵝 'pond goose'
- 淘河 'dredge river'
- 犁鶘 'plough pelican' (possibly 'plough lake'?)
- 伽藍鳥 'temple bird'
What is remarkable about the above names (except for the ancient 伽藍鳥 'temple bird') is that all are reminiscent of 鵜鶘 , but modified in ways suggestive of folk etymology. 塘鵝 appears to be mainly used in the south of China.
Species names
SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH |
CHINESE |
JAPANESE |
OTHER |
|||||
Latin |
English |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Chinese (Mainland) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Other J |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
| Pelacanus | ||||||||
| Pelecanus crispus |
Dalmatian pelican | 卷羽鵜鶘 'curly feathered pelican' |
卷羽鵜鶘 'curly feathered pelican' Note![]() |
鵜鶘 'pelican' 菲律賓鵜鶘 'Philippine pelican' |
ニシハイイロペリカン (西灰色ペリカン) nishi hai-iro perikan 'western grey pelican' (Wikipedia) |
ハイイロペリカン (灰色ペリカン) hai-iro perikan 'grey pelican' Note![]() ガランチョウ (伽藍鳥) garan-chō 'temple bird' |
사다새 sada-sae 'sada-bird' |
Bồ nông trắng đốm đen 'black-spotted white pelican' (from Internet cites list) |


ABOUT THIS TABLE (Hover cursor to see) 