Alcedinidae
Họ Bồnh chanh

General names

The following is based on analysis of dictionaries and other sources. Thai names are currently being revised. Comments and corrections are welcome.

Note on Vietnamese naming: With the exception of ducks and chickens, it is normal for Vietnamese bird names to include the word Chim meaning 'bird', even where not indicated in the tables. All bird and animal names can be preceded by the classifier con, which is used for living creatures.

Vietnamese has a variety of names for kingfishers. It is unclear how differentiated these names were in their "natural state", but naturalists now draw quite clear nomenclatural distinctions between subfamilies -- or in the case of Sibley and Monroe, families (Halcyonidae, Alcedinidae, and Cerylidae).

The general Vietnamese name for kingfishers is Chim sả. This name occurs in a number of variants:

Chim sả

Chim sả sả

Chim sa sả

Chim trả

To add to the variety, the spellings xả and chả are sometimes used in place of sả and trả respectively. Some of these names are regional (e.g., Chim sa sả is used in Central and Southern Vietnam).

The name Chim sả is applied by naturalists to the halcyon (or tree) kingfishers.

Another name for the kingfishers is Chim bói cá -- where cá means 'fish'. This is applied by naturalists to the cerylid (or water) kingfishers.

Alcedinid (or river) kingfishers are referred to as Chim bồnh chanh, or alternatively Chim bói cá sông 'river boi ca bird'.

In addition to the above, Vietnamese has several other words for kingfishers, although it is not so clear to which type they refer. There are the Chinese loan words Thúy điểu (from 翠鳥 cuì-niǎo), Chim thuý (also from 翠鳥 cuì-niǎo), and Chim phí thuý (from 翡翠 fěi-cuì), which may refer to the halcyonid or alcedinid kingfishers. Another name that appears to relate to the alcedinid kingfishers is Chim thằng chài. And there is a rather mysterious name used in northern dialects, Chim đồng cốt, literally meaning 'witchcraft bird' or 'medium bird'.

The assignment of names by naturalists is as follows:

Vietnamese names	Genera
Sả	Halcyonid kingfishers (Lacedo, Pelargopsis, Halcyon, Todiramphus)
Bói cá	Alcedinid kingfishers (Ceyx, Alcedo)
Bồnh chanh	Cerylid kingfishers (Megaceryle, Ceryle)

Chữ Nôm

Characters used for alcedinids in the now obsolete Chữ Nôm characters include:

Name	Chữ Nôm Images from the Vietnamese Nôm Preservation Foundation dictionary. (Errors are the sole responsibility of the author of this site)
Sả	or
Bói cá	(CHECK)

Species names

HALCYONINAE SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN VIETNAMESE EAST ASIAN S. E. ASIAN Latin English/French Vietnamese Other V Chinese Japanese Thai Malay Indonesian Lacedo                 Lacedo pulchella Banded kingfisher Martin-chasseur mignon Sả vằn 'striped sa'   横斑翠鸟 héng-bān cuì-niǎo 'horizontal stripe cui bird' (4) 斑翠鸟 bān cuì-niǎo 'striped cui bird' (5) カザリショウビン (飾り翡翠) kazari shōbin 'decorative shobin' นกกะเต็นลาย nók-kà-ten laay 'striped kingfisher (bird)' Burung Pekaka Riang Rimba 'merry jungle kingfisher bird' Cekakak Batu 'stone kingfisher' Pelargopsis                 Pelargopsis capensis Halcyon capensis Stork-billed kingfisher Martin-chasseur gurial Sả mỏ rộng 'large-billed sa'   鹳嘴翡翠 guàn-zuǐ fěicuì 'stork-billed feicui' コウハシショウビン (鸛嘴翡翠) kō-hashi shōbin 'stork-billed shobin' นกกะเต็นใหญ่ธรรมดา nók-kà-ten yày tʰam-ma-daa 'common large kingfisher (bird)' Burung Pekaka Emas 'golden kingfisher bird' Pekaka Emas 'golden pekaka' Halcyon                 Halcyon coromanda Ruddy kingfisher Martin-chasseur violet Sả hung 'reddish sa'   赤翡翠 chì fěicuì 'red feicui' Taiwan: 赤翡翠 chì fěicuì 'red feicui' アカショウビン (赤翡翠) aka shōbin 'red shobin' นกกะเต็นแดง nók-kà-ten daeeŋ 'red kingfisher (bird)' Burung Pekaka Belacan 'belacan kingfisher bird' Burung Pekaka Ungu 'purple kingfisher bird' Cekakak Merah 'red kingfisher' Halcyon smyrnensis White-throated kingfisher White-breasted kingfisher Smyrna Kingfisher Martin-chasseur de Smyrne Sả đầu nâu 'brown-headed sa'   白胸翡翠 bái-xiōng fěicuì 'white-breasted feicui' Taiwan: 蒼翡翠 cāng fěicuì 'blue feicui' アオショウビン (青翡翠) ao shōbin 'blue shobin' นกกะเต็นอกขาว nók-kà-ten kʰoaa-kʰăaw 'white-throated kingfisher (bird)' Burung Pekaka Belukar 'thicket kingfisher bird' Burung Pekaka Dada Putih 'white-breasted kingfisher bird' Cekakak Belukar 'thicket kingfisher' Halcyon pileata Black-capped kingfisher Martin-chasseur à coiffe noire Sả đầu đen 'black-headed sa'   蓝翡翠 lán fěicuì 'blue feicui' Taiwan: 黑頭翡翠 hēi-tóu fěicuì 'black-headed feicui' ヤマショウビン (山翡翠) yama shōbin 'mountain shobin' นกกะเต็นหัวดำ nók-kà-ten hŭa-dam 'black-headed kingfisher (bird)' Burung Pekaka Kopiah Hitam 'black skull-cap kingfisher bird' Burung Pekaka Kepala Hitam 'black-headed kingfisher bird' Cekakak Cina 'Chinese kingfisher' Todiramphus                 Todiramphus chloris Todirhamphus chloris Halcyon chloris Collared kingfisher White-collared kingfisher Martin-chasseur à collier blanc Sả khoang cổ 'spotted necked sa'   白领翡翠 bái-lǐng fěicuì 'white-collared feicui' Taiwan: 白領翡翠 bái-lǐng fěicuì 'white-collared feicui' ナンヨウショウビン (南洋翡翠) Nan'yō shōbin 'south seas shobin' นกกินเปี้ยว nók-kin-pîaw 'fiddler-crab eating bird' Burung Pekaka Sungai 'river kingfisher bird' Burung Pekaka Bakau 'mangrove kingfisher bird' Cekakak Sungai 'river kingfisher'

ALCEDININAE SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN VIETNAMESE EAST ASIAN S. E. ASIAN Latin English/French Vietnamese Other V Chinese Japanese Thai Malay Indonesian Ceyx                 Ceyx erithaca Ceyx erithacus Oriental dwarf kingfisher Three-toed kingfisher Martin-pêcheur pourpré Bồng chanh đỏ 'red bong chanh'   三趾翠鸟 sān-zhǐ cuì-niǎo 'three-toed cui bird' Taiwan: 三趾翠鳥 sān-zhǐ cuì-niǎo 'three-toed cui bird' ミツユビカワセミ (三つ趾翡翠 or 三つ趾川蝉) mitsu-yubi kawa-semi 'three-toed river kingfisher' นกกะเต็นน้อยหลังดำ nók-kà-ten nóaay lăŋ-dam 'black-backed little kingfisher (bird)' Burung Pekaka Rimba 'jungle kingfisher bird' Burung Pekaka Api 'fire kingfisher bird' Udang Api 'fire prawn (bird?)' Alcedo                 Alcedo meninting Blue-eared kingfisher Martin-pêcheur méninting Bồng chanh tai xanh 'blue/green-eared bong chanh'   蓝耳翠鸟 lán-ěr cuì-niǎo 'blue-eared cui bird' ルリカワセミ (瑠璃翡翠 or 瑠璃川蝉 or 琉璃翡翠 or 琉璃川蝉) ruri kawa-semi 'lapis lazuli river kingfisher' นกกะเต็นน้อยหลังสีน้ำเงิน nók-kà-ten nóaay lăŋ-sĭi-nám-ŋoeen 'blue-backed little kingfisher (bird)' Burung Pekaka Bintik-bintik (Pekaka Bintek-Bintek) 'spotted kingfisher bird' Burung Binti-Binti 'binti-binti bird' Rajaudang Meninting 'meninting king prawn (bird?)' Alcedo atthis Common kingfisher River kingfisher Martin-pêcheur d'Europe Bồng chanh 'bong chanh'   普通翠鸟 pǔtōng cuì-niǎo 'common cui bird' Taiwan: 翠鳥 cuì-niǎo 'cui bird' カワセミ (翡翠 or 川蝉) kawa-semi 'river kingfisher' (written with either the characters for hisui or for 'river cicada') นกกะเต็นน้อยธรรมดา nók-kà-ten nóaay tʰam-ma-daa 'common little kingfisher (bird)' Burung Pekaka Cit-cit Kecil 'small cit-cit kingfisher bird' Burung Raja Udang 'king prawn? bird' Rajaudang Erasia 'Eurasian king prawn (bird?)' Alcedo hercules Blyth's kingfisher Martin-pêcheur de Blyth Bồng chanh rừng 'forest bong chanh'   斑头大翠鸟 bān-tóu dà cuì-niǎo 'stripe-headed large cui bird' オオカワセミ (大翡翠 or 大川蝉) ō kawa-semi 'large river kingfisher' นกกะเต็นเฮอคิวลิส nók-kà-ten hoee-kʰiw-lít 'Hercules kingfisher (bird)' (from English 'Hercules')

CERYLINAE SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN VIETNAMESE EAST ASIAN S. E. ASIAN Latin English/French Vietnamese Other V Chinese Japanese Thai Malay Indonesian Megaceryle                 Megaceryle lugubris Ceryle lugubris Crested kingfisher Greater pied kingfisher Crested pied kingfisher Pied kingfisher Martin-pêcheur tacheté Bói cá lớn 'large boi ca'   冠鱼狗 guàn yú-gǒu 'crested fish dog' ヤマセミ (山翡翠 or 山魚狗) yama-semi 'mountain kingfisher' นกกะเต็นขาวดำใหญ่ nók-kà-ten kʰăaw-dam yày 'large black (&) white kingfisher (bird)'     Ceryle                 Ceryle rudis Pied kingfisher Lesser pied kingfisher Alcyon pie Bói cá nhỏ 'small boi ca'   斑鱼狗 bān yú-gǒu 'striped/spotted fish dog' Taiwan: 斑翡翠 bān fěicùi 'striped/spotted feicui' ヒメヤマセミ (姫山翡翠 or 姫山魚狗) hime yama-semi 'princess mountain kingfisher' นกกะเต็นปักหลัก nók-kà-ten pàk-làk 'hovering kingfisher (bird)'