Alcedinidae / Họ Bồnh chanh

General names

The following is based on analysis of dictionaries and other sources. Comments and corrections are welcome.

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 Sả. This name occurs in a number of variants:

Chim sả

Chim sả sả

Chim sa sả

Trả

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 Sả is applied by naturalists to the halcyon kingfishers.

Another name for the kingfishers is Bói cá -- where cá means 'fish'. This is applied by naturalists to the cerylid kingfishers.

Alcedinid kingfishers are referred to as Bồnh chanh, or alternatively Bói cá sông 'river boi ca'.

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) 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 halcyonid kingfishers is 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)

Species names

HALCYONINAE SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN VIETNAMESE EAST ASIAN S. E. ASIAN Latin English/French Vietnamese Other V Chinese Chinese (Taiwan) Japanese Thai 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 gà-dten laai 'patterned ga-dten bird' 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 gà-dten yài tam-má-daa 'common large ga-dten bird' Halcyon               Halcyon coromanda Ruddy kingfisher Martin-chasseur violet Sả hung 'reddish sa'   赤翡翠 chì fěicuì 'red feicui' 赤翡翠 chì fěicuì 'red feicui' アカショウビン (赤翡翠) aka shōbin 'red shobin' นกกะเต็นแดง nók gà-dten daeng 'red ga-dten bird' 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' 蒼翡翠 cāng fěicuì 'blue feicui' アオショウビン (青翡翠) ao shōbin 'blue shobin' นกกะเต็นอกขาว nók-gà-dten òk kăao 'white-breasted ga-dten bird' Halcyon pileata Black-capped kingfisher Martin-chasseur à coiffe noire Sả đầu đen 'black-headed sa'   蓝翡翠 lán fěicuì 'blue feicui' 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-gà-dten hŭa dam 'black-headed ga-dten bird' 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' 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 gin-bpîeow 'gin-bpieow bird'

ALCEDININAE SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN VIETNAMESE EAST ASIAN S. E. ASIAN Latin English/French Vietnamese Other V Chinese Chinese (Taiwan) Japanese Thai 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' 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-gà-dten nói lăng dam 'black noi ga-dten bird' Alcedo               Alcedo meninting Blue-eared kingfisher Martin-pêcheur méninting Bồng chanh tai xanh 'blue-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-gà-dten nói lăng sĕe-náam-ngern 'blue noi ga-dten 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' 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 gà-dten nói tam-má-daa 'common noi ga-dten 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 gà-dten her-kiw-lít 'Hercules ga-dten bird'

CERYLINAE SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN VIETNAMESE EAST ASIAN S. E. ASIAN Latin English/French Vietnamese Other V Chinese Chinese (Taiwan) Japanese Thai 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-gà-dten-kăao-dam-yài 'large black and white ga-dten 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' 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 gà-dten bpàk làk 'bpak lak ga-dten bird'