Turnicidae
Họ Cun cút

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.

Given the remarkable similarity of the button quails (bustard quails or hemipodes) to the coturnix quails, it's not surprising that both types of bird are customarily called by the same name in pre-scientific language. In order to scientifically distinguish the button quails, the ornithological naming in English treats them as a special type of quail ('buttonquail'), as does the usual naming in other East Asian countries.

In contrast, the Vietnamese classification takes the button quails as standard, i.e., in the ornithological naming, the Vietnamese word for 'quail', Chim cun cút or Chim cút, is assigned to the button quails. The coturnix quails are given a new name: Cay, probably from French caille and seldom listed in ordinary dictionaries.

CULTURAL

Vietnamese has the expression béo như con cun cút meaning 'fat as a quail', glossed in the dictionary as 'plump as a partridge'.

Chữ Nôm

Characters used for turnicids in the now obsolete Chữ Nôm characters include:

Name	Chữ Nôm Images from the Vietnamese Nôm Preservation Foundation dictionary. (Errors are the sole responsibility of the author of this site)
Cun cút
Chim cút	;

Species names

SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN		VIETNAMESE		EAST ASIAN		S. E. ASIAN
Turnix
Latin	English/French	Vietnamese	Other V	Chinese	Japanese	Thai	Malaysian	Indonesian
Turnix sylvaticus Turnix sylvatica	Common buttonquail Small buttonquail Little Button-quail Little Bustard Quail Kurrichane Buttonquail Andalusian Hemipode Turnix mugissant	Chim Cun cút nhỏ 'small quail (bird)' (12, 13, 34)		林三趾鹑 (林三趾鶉 ) lín sān-zhǐ-chún 'forest three-toed quail' Taiwan: (林三趾鹑) 林三趾鶉 lín sān-zhǐ-chún 'forest three-toed quail'	ヒメミフウズラ (姫三斑鶉) hime mi-fu uzura 'princess three-striped quail'	นกคุ่มอืดเล็ก nók kʰûm èuut lék 'small buttonquail (bird)'	Burung Puyuh Kecil 'small quail (bird)' (24, 28)	Burung Gemak Tegalan 'dryfield quail (bird)'  Burung Puyuh Tegalan Kecil 'small dryfield quail (bird)' (29)
Turnix tanki	Yellow-legged buttonquail Yellow-legged button-quail Yellow-legged bustard quail Burmese button quail Turnix indien	Chim Cun cút lưng hung 'reddish-backed quail' (12, 13, 34)		黄脚三趾鹑 (黃腳三趾鶉 ) huáng-jiǎo sān-zhǐ-chún 'yellow-legged three-toed quail' Taiwan: (黄脚三趾鹑) 黃腳三趾鶉 huáng-jiǎo sān-zhǐ-chún 'yellow-legged three-toed quail'	チョウセンミフウズラ (朝鮮三斑鶉) chōsen mi-fu uzura 'Korean three-striped quail'	นกคุ่มอืดใหญ่ nók kʰûm èuut yày 'large buttonquail (bird)'	Burung Puyuh Kaki Kuning 'yellow-legged quail (bird)' (24, 25)
Turnix suscitator	Barred Buttonquail Bustard Quail Common Bustard Quail Turnix combattant	Chim Cun cút lưng nâu 'brown-backed quail' (12, 13, 34)		棕三趾鹑 (棕三趾鶉 ) zōng sān-zhǐ-chún 'reddishbrown three-toed quail' Taiwan: (棕三趾鹑) 棕三趾鶉 zōng sān-zhǐ-chún 'reddishbrown three-toed quail'	ミフウズラ (三斑鶉) mi-fu uzura 'three-striped quail'	นกคุ่มอกลาย nók kʰûm òk-laay 'stripe-breasted quail (bird)'	Burung Puyuh 'quail (bird)' (old, 26, 28) Burung Puyuh Tanah 'ground quail (bird)' (24, 25)	Burung Gemak Loreng 'striped quail (bird)' Burung Puyuh Tegalan Loreng 'striped dryfield quail (bird)' (29)

นกคุ่มอืด nók kʰûm-èuut means 'buttonquail' but the derivation of the name is unclear since there are two principal adjectival meanings for อืด èuut, 'slow' and 'swollen', and ornithologically the word is found only in the buttonquail names.

Mostly from Robinson (& Chasen) 1927-1939 v1-4; additions from Madoc 1947 (et.seq.), and Glenister 1951 (both mostly names copied from Robinson)

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 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