General
The following is based on analysis of dictionaries and other sources. Comments and corrections welcome. Malaysian names are now being updated. For consistency, Vietnamese bird names (except for ducks and chickens) are preceded by the word Chim meaning 'bird'. Ornithological lists mostly omit this as understood. 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 Vietnamese name for parrots in general is Chim Vẹt. The largest native psittaculids in Vietnam are Psittacula parakeets, and the other native genera are also small. Accordingly, Chim Vẹt is glossed here as 'parakeet', although it should be kept in mind that Vẹt in Vietnamese is a general term and even large foreign parrots are also called Vẹt.
According to dictionaries, Chim Kéc is a term used for 'larger parrots' but in actuality appears to refer mainly to somewhat larger parakeets. In Central Vietnam Chim Kéc is the common term for a psittaculid.
Other less commonly encountered names for the Psittaculidae include Chim Ác mỏ 'crow-billed bird', Sino-Vietnamese Anh vũ (Mandarin 鸚鵡 'parrot'), and Chim Tuệ cầm 'intelligent bird'.
Học vẹt 'parrot study' is used in Vietnamese to mean 'learning parrot fashion; learning by rote repetition'.
Chữ Nôm
Psittacid names written in the now obsolete Chữ Nôm characters are listed in the following table. The characters which Chữ Nôm shares with Chinese are indicated, the others are Chữ Nôm only. It is also noted where the Chu Nom character has an additional avian reading.
| Name | Chu Nom Images from the Vietnamese Nôm Preservation Foundation dictionary. (Errors are the sole responsibility of the author of this site) |
| Vẹt |  ;  (also vịt 'duck');  ;  ;  (also vịt 'duck');  (also vịt 'duck') |
| Kéc |  |
| Ác mỏ |   (First character, ác 'crow', is a Chinese character) |
| Anh vũ |   (Both characters are Chinese) |
| Chim Tuệ cầm |    (last two characters are Chinese) |
Species names
| PSITTACULINAE | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN |
VIETNAMESE |
EAST ASIAN |
S. E. ASIAN |
|||||
| PSITTACULINI | ||||||||
| Psittinus | ||||||||
Latin |
English/French |
Vietnamese |
Other V |
Chinese |
Japanese |
Thai |
Malaysian |
Indonesian |
Psittinus cyanurus |
Blue-rumped parrot Perruche à croupion bleu |
Chim Vẹt đuôi ngắn 'short-tailed parakeet (bird)' (12, 34) |
蓝腰鹦鹉 (藍腰鸚鵡) 'blue-rumped parrot' |
ルリゴシインコ (琉璃腰鸚哥 ~ 瑠璃腰鸚哥) ruri-goshi inko 'lapiz lazuli-rumped parakeet' |
นกหกใหญ่ nók hòk yày 'large inverted bird' |
Burung Puling 'bluerumpparrot (bird)' (old, 26, 28) Burung Pialing 'bluerumpparrot (bird)' (old) Burung Bayan Puling 'bluerumpparrot parakeet (bird)' (old, 24, 24a, 25) Burung Tanau 'bluerumpparrot (bird)' (old) Burung Bayan Tanau 'bluerumpparrot parakeet (bird)' |
Burung Nuri Tanau 'bluerumpparrot lory (bird)' |
|
| Psittacula | ||||||||
Latin |
English/French |
Vietnamese |
Other V |
Chinese |
Japanese |
Thai |
Malaysian |
Indonesian |
| Psittacula finschii |
Grey-headed parakeet Perruche de Finsch |
Psittacula himalayana finschii (12): Chim Vẹt đầu xám 'grey-headed parakeet (bird)' (12, 34) |
灰头鹦鹉 (灰頭鸚鵡) 'grey-headed parrot'  Taxonomy |
ズグロコセイインコ (頭黒小青鸚哥) zu-guro ko-sei-inko 'black-headed small blue/green parakeet' |
นกกะลิง nók kà-liŋ 'kà-liŋ bird (cf treepie)' |
Burung Bayan Kepala Kelabu 'grey-headed parakeet (bird)' (24) |
||
| Psittacula roseata |
Blossom-headed parakeet Perruche à tête rose |
Chim Vẹt đầu hồng 'rose-headed parakeet (bird)' (12, 13, 34) |
花头鹦鹉 (花頭鸚鵡) 'flower-headed parrot' |
バライロコセイインコ (薔薇色小青鸚哥) bara-iro ko-sei-inko 'rose-coloured small blue/green parakeet' |
นกแก้วหัวแพร nók kâeew hŭa-pʰraee 'silk-headed parakeet-bird' |
Burung Bayan Bali 'Balinese parakeet (bird)' (24) |
||
| Psittacula alexandri |
Red-breasted parakeet Moustached parakeet Perruche à moustaches |
Chim Vẹt ngực đỏ 'red-breasted parakeet (bird)' (12, 13, 34) |
绯胸鹦鹉 (緋胸鸚鵡) 'scarlet-breasted parrot' |
ダルマインコ (達磨鸚哥) daruma-inko 'dharma parakeet' |
นกแขกเต้า nók kʰàeek-tâw 'cockatoo (bird)' |
Burung Bayan 'parakeet (bird)' (shared with Psittacula longicauda) (old) Burung Bayan Dada Merah 'red-breasted parakeet (bird)' (26, 28) Burung Bayan Api 'fire parakeet (bird)' (24, 25) (introduced) |
Burung Betet Biasa 'common parakeet (bird)' Burung Betet 'parakeet (bird)' (old, 29) |
|
| Psittacula longicauda |
Long-tailed parakeet Pink-cheeked parakeet Perruche à longs brins |
Chim Vẹt đuôi dài 'long-tailed parakeet (bird)' (12, 34) |
长尾鹦鹉 (長尾鸚鵡) 'long-tailed parrot' |
オナガダルマインコ (尾長達磨鸚哥) o-naga daruma-inko 'long-tailed dharma parakeet' |
Burung Bayan 'parakeet (bird)' (shared with Psittacula alexandri) (old) Burung Bayan Nuri 'lory-parakeet (bird)' (24, 25, 26) |
Burung Betet Ekor-panjang 'long-tailed parakeet (bird)' |
||
| Psittacula eupatria |
Alexandrine parakeet Perruche alexandre |
Chim Vẹt má vàng 'yellow-cheeked parakeet (bird)' (12, 34) |
阿历山大鹦鹉 (阿歷山大鸚鵡) 'Alexander parrot' (introduced) (4, 5) |
オオホンセイインコ (大本青鸚哥) ō hon-sei-inko 'large true blue/green parakeet' |
นกแก้วโม่ง nók kâeew môoŋ 'masked-bandit parakeet (bird)' |
Burung Bayan Budiman 'wise parakeet (bird)' (24) |
||
Latin |
English/French |
Vietnamese |
Other V |
Chinese (incl. Taiwan) |
Japanese |
Thai |
Malaysian |
Indonesian |
| Psittacula krameri |
Rose-ringed parakeet Perruche à collier |
Chim Vẹt cổ hồng 'rose-necked parakeet (bird)' (12, 34) |
Chim Vẹt đuôi dài chàm cổ cườm 'bead-necked indigo long-tailed parrot (bird)' |
红领绿鹦鹉 (紅領綠鸚鵡) 'red-collared green parrot' |
ホンセイインコ (本青鸚哥) hon-sei-inko 'true blue/green parakeet' |
นกแก้วแหวนสีกุหลาบ nók kâeew wăeen-sĭi-kù-làap 'rose-ringed parakeet (bird)' |
Burung Bayan Lepas 'released/escaped parakeet (bird)' (24, 26, 28) (introduced) |
|
| LORIINAE | ||||||||
SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN |
VIETNAMESE |
EAST ASIAN |
S. E. ASIAN |
|||||
| AGAPORNITHINI | ||||||||
| Loriculus | ||||||||
Latin |
English/French |
Vietnamese |
Other V |
Chinese |
Japanese |
Thai |
Malaysian |
Indonesian |
| Loriculus vernalis |
Vernal hanging parrot Vernal hanging-parrot Coryllis vernal |
Chim Vẹt lùn 'dwarf parakeet (bird)' (12, 34) |
短尾鹦鹉 (短尾鸚鵡) 'short-tailed parrot' |
ミドリサトウチョウ (緑砂糖鳥) midori satō-chō 'green sugar-bird' |
นกหกเล็กปากแดง nók hòk lék pàak daeeŋ 'red-billed small inverted bird' |
Burung Serindit Rambai 'rambai hangingparrot (bird)' (25) Burung Bayan Rambai 'rambai parakeet (bird)' (24) |
||
Mostly from Robinson (& Chasen) 1927-1939 v1-4; additions from Madoc 1947 (et.seq.), and Glenister 1951 (both mostly names copied from Robinson)
หก hòk here means 'inverted; upside down' and refers to the fact that these little parrots can even sleep hanging upside down like bats.
Rambai is the popular fruit of Baccaurea motleyana tree; rambai ~ rambi borrowed into English
Older sources report a set of related, dialectal names for hanging parrot: serindit (written variously as serindit, selindit, sarindit, and salindit; compare Javanese srindhit). The unmodified name referred originally to whichever single species of Loriculus was found locally.
Some sources (following 24, 25) insert bayan 'parakeet' into each of their Psittaculinae and Loriinae names. Normally, bayan is only used in names for birds called 'parakeet' in English, especially Psittacula parakeets.
'Cockatoo' and the scientific name Cacatua were borrowed from Malay kakatua. Today kakatua is widely used for any bird called 'cockatoo' in English, but formerly it could also have a more general meaning of 'large parrot'.
Older sources report a set of related, dialectal names for Blue-rumped Parrot: puling (written variously as puling, pulin, and buling) and pialing (written pialing and pialin). Puling is mispelt as puting in (24, 25) and as perling (=starling) in an older source.
Nuri (written variously as nuri, nori, luri, and lori) originally meant 'lory', and the Malay name was borrowed into English as 'lory'. Today nuri is widely used in names for any bird called 'parrot' in English.
The unmodified name bayan referred originally to whichever single species of Psittacula was found locally. In West Malaysia and Singapore that species was Psittacula longicauda, but unmodified bayan was also extended to introduced Psittacula alexandri. Popularly bayan is used in names for any bird called 'parakeet' in English.
Unmodified betet originally referred only to Psittacula alexandri on Java where the name was borrowed from Javanese bËthËt. Today, Indonesian betet is used in names for any bird called 'parakeet' in English.
The name is a literary allusion to the famed Hikayat Bayan Budiman, 'Tales of the Wise Parakeet', the 14th century Malay version of The Parrot's Seventy Tales
แขกเต้า kʰàeek-tâw 'cockatoo' is related to the Malay name kakatua. In Thai the name usually means 'cockatoo', but it can also be used as a general name for any parrot.
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
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
Previously online version of: 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 West Malaysia and Singapore by Jeyarajasingam, Allen and Alan Pearson, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1999
A Field Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore (second edition) by Jeyarajasingham, Allen, Illustrations by Alan Pearson, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2012
A Field Guide to the Birds of Java and Bali (second edition) by MacKinnon, John, Gadjah Mada University Press, Yogyakarta 1990
Danh Lục Các Loài Chim ở Việt Nam (Latinh, Việt, Pháp, Hán) Trần Văn Chánh 2008-2009
Floating Menu by Milonic |
Tool tips by Walter Zorn |
