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Oriolidae
黄鹂科
huáng-lí kē

黃鸝科
huáng-lí kē

コウライウグイス科
kōrai-uguisu ka

꾀꼬리과
kkoekkori-gwa

Họ Vàng anh

Шаргачийнхан
sharagchiŋkhaŋ

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General

Information is from dictionaries and other sources. Pinyin reflects Mandarin pronunciation; for some dialect names, it is no more than a polite fiction. Korean glosses are tentative. Comments and corrections welcome. 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.

The Oriolidae are represented in China by six species, all belonging to the genus Oriolus. These include the Eurasian Golden Oriole (the oriole of Western tradition) in the far west of China and four species in the south of China, three of which are found only in Yunnan.

While the oriole known to the west is the Golden Oriole, the oriole of Chinese tradition is the Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis), a bird famed for its golden appearance and beautiful song. The Black-naped Oriole is known by a number of names in Chinese, including 黄鹂 huáng-lí 'yellow-oriole', yīng 'oriole', 黄莺 huáng-yīng 'yellow-oriole', 黄鸟 huáng niǎo 'yellow bird', and 仓庚 (or 鸧鹒) cānggēng 'oriole'. The character for consists of the phonetic (meaning 'beautiful') on the left and the character niǎo (meaning 'bird') on the right.

The choice of ornithlogical name fell on 黄鹂 huáng-lí 'yellow-oriole', which has been extended to all other oriolid species, although this poses some difficulty in naming. While in spoken Chinese 黄鹂 huáng-lí is effectively a single word meaning 'oriole', four of six species found in China are not actually yellow. In the ornithological naming two approaches can be found. One is to keep 黄鹂 huáng-lí as a single word with the meaning 'oriole', resulting in species names like 朱黄鹂 zhū huáng-lí 'vermilion yellow oriole'. The second is to drop the huáng 'yellow' for non-yellow species. This is possible because in written Chinese the single character is sufficient to indicate the meaning without ambiguity. The second approach is now more common.

The various names of the oriole were borrowed into neighbouring countries under the influence of Chinese culture, including Vietnam, where the same name was often borrowed into Vietnamese multiple times. The Japanese also imported the various oriole names, but in adopting the characters from Chinese , the Japanese made one important innovation. Since the Black-naped Oriole was very unlikely to be seen in Japan, especially in core areas like the Kinki region, the Japanese borrowed the character yīng ( in its traditional form) for what they perceived as their own cultural equivalent to the oriole: the uguisu or bush warbler, a member of the Sylviidae. Like the oriole, the Japanese Bush Warbler is noted for its beautiful song heralding the spring. Unlike the oriole, it is a small brown bird that is more often heard than seen. The usage of to write the word uguisu was eventually imported back into Chinese by modern ornithologists, resulting in the current situation where the term yīng is now ornithologically applied to the warblers. (See How came to be used for the warblers under Japanese influence).

Ornithological specialisations (EXTRALIMITALS)

As noted, Chinese ornithologists have extended the name 黄鹂 huáng-lí or 'oriole' to all members of the genus Oriolus. To the genus Sphecotheres, which occurs in Australia, Papua-New Guinea and the Lesser Sundas, they give the name 裸眼鹂 luóyǎnlí 'naked eye oriole', due to their striking red eyepatch. (The English name is the less glamorous Figbird, presumably bestowed in colonial times.)

Under the influence of English, Chinese ornithologists have also extended the term  'oriole' to the New World Orioles (Icteridae).

Cultural

During the Ming Dynasty in China, the Black-naped Oriole (黄鹂 huáng-lí) was depicted in 'Mandarin Squares' (known as 补子 bǔzi) attached to official uniforms of high-ranking bureaucrats. It was the insignia of rank for Grade Eight of civilian official.

yīng is used in traditional literary expressions like:

莺歌燕舞 yīng-ge yàn-wǔ 'orioles sing and swallows dart' -- a scene of spring, peaceful and prosperous

莺声燕语 yīng-shēng yàn-yǔ 'trill of an oriole, song of a swallow' -- the sweet delicate voice of a woman

Species names

› ABOUT THIS TABLE‹
ORIOLINAE
SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH
CHINESE
EAST
SOUTH
NORTH
Oriolus
Latin
English
Chinese
Chinese (Taiwan)
Other Ch
Japanese
Korean
Vietnamese
Mongolian
Oriolus trailli
link to photo
Maroon oriole 朱鹂
(朱鸝)
zhū-lí
'vermilion oriole'
(朱鹂)
朱鸝
zhū-lí
'vermilion oriole'
栗色黄鹂
(栗色黃鸝)
lì-sè huáng-lí
'chestnut-coloured yellow oriole' (6)
朱黄鹂
(朱黃鸝)
zhū huáng-lí
'vermilion yellow oriole'
ヒゴロモ
(緋衣)
hi-goromo
'scarlet robe'
  Chim Tử anh
'purple oriole (bird)' (12, 34)
 
Oriolus mellianus
link to photo
Silver Oriole
Stresemann's Maroon Oriole
Mell's maroon oriole
鹊鹂
(鵲鸝)
què-lí
'magpie oriole' (2, 4)
鹊色鹂
(鵲色鸝)
què-sè lí
'magpie-coloured oriole' (1, 3, 5)
  鹊色黄鹂
(鵲色黄鸝)
què-sè huáng-lí
'magpie-coloured yellow oriole' (6, 7)
ギンイロヒゴロモ
(銀色緋衣)
gin-iro hi-goromo
'silver scarlet-robe'
     
Oriolus xanthornus
link to photo
Black-hooded oriole
Asian black-headed oriole
Black-headed oriole
黑头黄鹂
(黑頭黃鸝)
hēi-tóu huáng-lí
'black-headed yellow oriole'
    ズグロコウラウグイス
(高麗鴬)
zu-guro kōrai uguisu
'black-headed Korean warbler'
  Chim Vàng anh đầu đen
'black-headed yellow oriole (bird)' (12, 34)
 
Oriolus oriolus
link to photo
Eurasian golden oriole
Golden oriole
European golden oriole
金黄鹂
(金黃鸝)
jīn huáng-lí
'golden oriole'
  金莺
(金鶯)
jīn-yīng
'golden oriole'
ニシコウライウグイス
(西高麗鴬)
nishi kōrai uguisu
'western Korean warbler'
    Эгэл шаргач
ᠡᠭᠡᠯ ᠱᠢᠷᠭᠠᠴᠢ
egel shargach
'common yellowish'
Inner M:
Алтан гургалдай
ᠠᠯᠲᠠᠨ ᠭᠣᠷᠭᠣᠯᠳᠠᠢ
altaŋ gurgaldai
'golden warbler' (31)
Oriolus chinensis
link to photolink to photo
Black-naped oriole 黑枕黄鹂
(黑枕黃鸝)
hēi-zhěn huáng-lí
'black naped yellow oriole'
(黄鹂)
黄鸝
huáng-lí
'yellow-oriole'
黄鹂
(黃鸝)
huáng-lí
'yellow-oriole' (northern Chinese)
黄莺
(黃鶯)
huáng-yīng
'yellow oriole' (southern Chinese)
黄鸟
(黃鳥)
huáng niǎo
'yellow bird'
仓庚
(倉庚)
or
鸧鹒
(鶬鶊)
cānggēng
'oriole'

()
yīng
'oriole' (obsolete)
黄爪落
(黃爪落)
huáng zhǎoluò
'yellow zhaoluo'
コウライウグイス
(高麗鴬)
kōrai uguisu
'Korean warbler'
꾀꼬리
kkoekkori
'oriole'
Chim Vàng anh Trung Quốc
'Chinese yellow oriole (bird)' (12, 13, 34)
Дорнын шаргач
ᠳᠣᠷᠣᠨ᠎ᠠ ᠵᠢᠨ ᠱᠢᠷᠭᠠᠴᠢ
dorniŋ shargach
'eastern yellowish'
Inner M:
Манхар алтан гургуулдай
ᠮᠠᠩᠬᠠᠷ ᠠᠯᠲᠠᠨ ᠭᠣᠷᠭᠣᠣᠯᠳᠠᠢ
maŋkhar altaŋ gurguuldai
'masked golden warbler' (31, 33)
Latin
English
Chinese
Chinese (Taiwan)
Other Ch
Japanese
Korean
Vietnamese
Mongolian
Oriolus tenuirostris Slender-billed oriole 细嘴黄鹂
(細嘴黃鸝)
xì-zuǐ huáng-lí
'narrow-billed yellow oriole'
    ミナミコウライウグイス
(南高麗鴬)
minami kōrai uguisu
'southern Korean warbler'
  Chim Vàng anh lưng xám
'grey-backed yellow oriole (bird)' (34)
 

The name Гургалдай gurgaldai has been applied to a range of birds famous for their song, including orioles, robins, and nightingales. For consistency, the term has here been glossed as 'warbler', following modern Mongolian ornithological usage, but it should be kept in mind that there was a historical identification with the oriole in Qing China.

中国鸟类种和亚种分类名录大全(修订版) 郑作新 著 科学出版社 北京 2000年
A Complete Checklist of Species and Subspecies of the Chinese Birds (Revised Edition) by Cheng Tso-Hsin, Science Press, Beijing 2000

中国鸟类分类与分布名录 主编:郑光美 科学出版社 北京 2005年
A Checklist on the Classification and Distribution of the Birds of China Chief editor: Zheng Guangmei, Science Press, Beijing 2005

中国鸟类野外手册(中文版)约翰・马敬能、卡伦・菲利普斯,合作者:荷芬奇,翻译:卢和芬 湖南教育出版社 长沙 2000年
A Field Guide to the Birds of China (Chinese translation) by John MacKinnon, Karen Phillipps, in collaboration with He Fen-qi, translated by Lu Hefen, Hunan Jiaoyu Chubanshe (Hunan Educational Press) Changsha 2000

世界鸟类分类与分布名录 主编:郑光美 科学出版社 北京 2002年
A Checklist on the Classification and Distribution of the Birds of the World Chief editor: Zheng Guangmei, Science Press, Beijing 2002

世界鸟类名称(拉丁文、汉文、英文对照)第二版 郑作新等 科学出版社 北京 2002年
Birds of the World (Latin, Chinese and English Names) 2nd ed. by Cheng Tso-Hsin et al, Science Press, Beijing 2002

中国鸟类分布名录 第二版 郑作新 科学出版社 北京 1976年
(Checklist of the Classification of Birds of China 2nd edition by Cheng Tso-Hsin, Science Press, Beijing 1976)

香港及華南鳥類(第六版)(翻譯成中文及重新修訂) 尹璉、費嘉倫、林超英 香港性徵特區政府新聞處政府印務局 1994年
Birds of Hong Kong and South China (6th edition, translated into Chinese and newly revised) by Clive Viney, Karen Phillipps, Lin Chaoying, Hong Kong Govt. Press 1994

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

汉蒙名词术语分类词典(自然科学部分) Mongolian (Cyrillic): Хятад Монгол нэр томъёоны зүйл хуваасан толь (байгалийн шинжлэх ухааны бүлэг) (Chinese-Mongolian classified terminological dictionary, natural sciences part) by 《汉蒙名词术语分类词典》编纂委员会 Mongolian (Cyrillic): "Хятад Монгол нэр томъёоны зүйл хуваасан толь" найруулах комисс (Chinese-Mongolian classified terminological dictionary editorial committee), Inner Mongolian People's Press, Hohhot 1990

内蒙古动物志 (第四卷 鸟纲 雀形目) Fauna Inner Mongolia (Volume 4 Aves Passerines), 主编:旭日干 (Chief Editor: Xurigan), 内蒙古人大学版社 (Inner Mongolian University Press), Hohhot 2015

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