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.
With the exception of Pitta nympha and to a less extent Pitta soror, the pittas are almost exclusively found in the far south of China, mainly in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces.
The pittas are known as 八色鸫 'eight-coloured thrush' in Chinese. In Taiwan, the only member of the family, the Fairy Pitta Pitta nympha, is known as the 八色鸟 'eight-coloured bird'.
The Chinese names are probably based on the Japanese name for the Fairy Pitta Pitta nympha: ヤイロチョウ (八色鳥) ya-iro-chō 'eight-coloured bird' or ヤイロツグミ (八色鶇) ya-iro-tsutumi 'eight-coloured thrush'. These names have been extended to all members of the Pittidae, although some pittas are less colourful than others.
Species names
SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH |
CHINESE |
EAST |
SOUTH | NORTH |
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Pitta | ||||||||
Latin |
English |
Chinese |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
Mongolian |
Pitta phayrei |
Eared pitta Phayre's pitta |
双辫八色鸫 (雙辮八色鶇) 'double-pigtailed eight-coloured thrush' |
ツノヤイロチョウ (角八色鳥) tsuno ya-iro-chō 'horned eight-coloured-bird' |
Chim Đuôi cụt nâu 'brown short-tail bird' (12) |
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Pitta oatesi |
Rusty-naped pitta Fulvous pitta |
栗头八色鸫 (栗頭八色鶇) 'chestnut-headed eight-coloured thrush' |
锅巴雀 (鍋巴雀) 'pot-crust sparrow' (Yunnan) |
チャガシラヤイロチョウ (茶頭八色鳥) cha-gashira ya-iro-chō 'brown-headed eight-coloured-bird' |
Chim Đuôi cụt đầu hung 'reddish-headed short-tail bird' (12, 34) |
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Pitta nipalensis |
Blue-naped pitta | 蓝枕八色鸫 (藍枕八色鶇) 'blue-naped eight-coloured thrush' |
アオエリヤイロチョウ (青襟八色鳥) ao-eri ya-iro-chō 'blue/green-collared eight-coloured bird' |
Chim Đuôi cụt gáy xanh 'blue/green-naped short-tail bird' (12, 34) |
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Pitta soror |
Blue-rumped pitta Blue-backed pitta |
蓝背八色鸫 (藍背八色鶇) 'blue-backed eight-coloured thrush' |
コシアオヤイロチョウ (腰青八色鳥) koshi-ao ya-iro-chō 'blue/green-rumped eight-coloured bird' |
Chim Đuôi cụt đầu xám 'grey-headed short-tail bird' (12, 34) |
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Pitta cyanea |
Blue pitta | 蓝八色鸫 (藍八色鶇) 'blue eight-coloured thrush' |
ルリヤイロチョウ (瑠璃八色鳥 ~ 琉璃八色鳥) ruri ya-iro-chō 'lapis lazuli eight-coloured bird' |
Chim Đuôi cụt đầu đỏ 'red-headed short-tail bird' (12, 34) |
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Latin |
English |
Chinese |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
Mongolian |
Pitta moluccensis |
Blue-winged pitta Moluccan pitta Malay pitta |
蓝翅八色鸫 (藍翅八色鶇) 'blue-winged eight-coloured thrush' Taxonomy |
紫蓝翅八色鸫 (紫藍八色鶇) 'purple blue-winged eight-coloured thrush' (7) |
ミナミヤイロチョウ (南八色鳥) minami ya-iro-chō 'southern eight-coloured bird' |
Chim Đuôi cụt cánh xanh 'blue/green-winged short-tail bird' (12, 13, 34) |
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Pitta nympha |
Fairy pitta Chinese pitta Lesser blue-winged pitta |
仙八色鸫 (仙八色鶇) 'fairy eight-coloured thrush' |
(八色鸟) 八色鳥 'eight-coloured bird' |
蓝翅八色鸫 (藍翅八色鶇) 'blue-winged eight-coloured thrush' (6, 7) (Now applied to P. moluccensis) 八色轰鸟 (八色轟鳥) 'eight-coloured booming? bird' |
ヤイロチョウ (八色鳥) ya-iro-chō 'eight-coloured bird' |
팔색조 pal-ssaek-jjo 'eight-coloured bird' |
Chim Đuôi cụt bụng đỏ 'red-bellied short-tail bird' (12, 13) |
Inner M: Хөх далавчит тарлан таргалж ᠬᠦᠬᠡ ᠳᠠᠯᠠᠪᠴᠢᠲᠣ ᠲᠠᠷᠯᠠᠨ ᠲᠠᠷᠭᠠᠯᠵᠢ khökh dalavcht tarlaŋ targalj 'darkblue-winged varicoloured thrush' (31) |
Pitta sordida |
Hooded pitta Green-breasted pitta |
绿胸八色鸫 (綠胸八色鶇) 'green-breasted eight-coloured thrush' (1, 2, 3, 4) 黑头八色鸫 (黑頭八色鶇) 'black-headed eight-coloured thrush' (5) |
ズグロヤイロチョウ (頭黒八色鳥) zu-guro ya-iro-chō 'black-headed eight-coloured bird' |
Chim Đuôi cụt đầu đen 'black-headed short-tail bird' (12, 34) |
The Inner Mongolian name of the pittas (in Cyrillic) is Тарлан таргалж tarlaŋ targalj, meaning 'varicoloured thrush'. The name is from Chinese 八色鸫 bāsè-dōng 'eight-coloured thrush', which in turn is probably from Japanese 八色鶇 ya-iro tsugumi 'eight-coloured thrush'.
The name 'eight-coloured bird' (ヤイロチョウ ya-iro-chō 八色鳥) was originally given to Pitta nympha. It has since been extended to all members of the Pittidae, although some are much less colourful than others.
The name 'eight-coloured thrush' (八色鸫 ) was probably originally borrowed from Japanese ヤイロツグミ ya-iro-tsugumi 八色鶇 'eight-coloured-thrush', an alternative name for Pitta nympha. It has since been extended to all members of the Pittidae, although some are much less colourful than others.
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
(6)
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 1990Chim Việt Nam Nguyễn Cử, Lê Trọng Trải, Karen Phillipps; Nhà Xuất Bản Lao Động - Xã Hội, 2000
Danh Lục Các Loài Chim ở Việt Nam (Latinh, Việt, Pháp, Hán) Trần Văn Chánh 2008-2009