Podicipedidae

General

Information is from dictionaries and other sources. Comments and corrections welcome. All Malaysian and Indonesian names in the process of conversion into modernised spelling only. Hover over Green Lettering Green lettering at this site hides a tool tip with glosses, further explanations, etc. Hover cursor to reveal. to see additional information.

Historically, grebes have been popularly considered to be kinds of wild ducks (Anatidae), and there were no names particular to grebes alone.

Popularly, itik air 'wild duck' (literally 'water duck') has been used not only for wild ducks (Nettapus, Aythya, etc, Anatidae), but also for grebes, finfoots (Heliornithidae), and other birds perceived to be duck-like. Definitions restricting this very general name to particular genera or species represent misunderstandings of the scope of the name.

Ornithological naming

Ornithological Malaysian borrowed 'grebe' directly from English and either retained the English spelling (grebe) or used the Malaysian spelling of the English pronunciation (gerib).

The etymology of ornithological Indonesian titihan 'grebe' is uncertain.

Malaysian

Form of Name	Original Meaning	Ornithological Malaysian
grebe	'grebe' (from English)	Tachybaptus
gerib	'grebe' (from English)	Tachybaptus

Indonesian

Form of Name	Original Meaning	Ornithological Indonesian
titihan	'grebe'	Tachybaptus

Species names

SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN		MALAY			OTHER S. E. ASIAN		EAST ASIAN
Tachybaptus
Latin	English	Malaysian	Other M	Indonesian	Thai	Vietnamese	Chinese	Japanese
Tachybaptus ruficollis Podiceps ruficollis	Little grebe Dabchick	Burung Grebe Kecil 'small grebe (bird)' (grebe from English) (24) Burung Gerib Kecil 'small grebe (bird)' (gerib from English) (25)		Burung Titihan Telaga 'pond grebe (bird)' (30) Burung Titihan 'grebe (bird)' (29)	นกเป็ดผีเล็ก nók pèt-pʰĭi lék 'small ghost-duck bird'	Chim Le hôi 'smelly wildduck (bird)' (12, 13)	小䴙䴘 (小鷿鷈) xiǎo pìtī 'small grebe' Taiwan: (小䴙䴘) 小鷿鷈 xiǎo pìtī 'small grebe'	カイツブリ (鸊鷉) kaitsuburi 'grebe'

Danh Lục Chim Việt Nam (In lần thứ hai) (Checklist of the Birds of Vietnam) Võ Quý, Nguyễn Cử, Nhà Xuất Bản Nông Nghiệp, Hà Nội 1999

Chim Việt Nam Nguyễn Cử, Lê Trọng Trải, Karen Phillipps; Nhà Xuất Bản Lao Động - Xã Hội, 2000

Senarai Nama-nama Burung Semenanjung Malaysia dan Asia Tenggara by Ismail, Abdul Rahman, Perhilitan (Jabatam Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara, Semenanjung Malaysia), Kuala Lumpur 1981
List of the Names of Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Southeast Asia by Ismail, Abdul Rahman, Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Peninsular Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 1981

The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol. 1 - Non-passerines by Wells, David R., Academic Press, London 1999

A Field Guide to the Birds of Java and Bali (second edition) by MacKinnon, John, Gadjah Mada University Press, Yogyakarta 1990

Burung Nusantara checklist of Birds of Indonesia

Danh Lục Các Loài Chim ở Việt Nam (Latinh, Việt, Pháp, Hán) Trần Văn Chánh 2008-2009