Anhingidae

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.

Anhingas are often seen with cormorants and resemble them sufficiently that in the popular languages anhingas are seen to be a kind of cormorant. There are no traditional names given for anhingas which do not also refer primarily to the more commonly encountered cormorants. Although not all cormorant names have been historically documented as referring to anhingas, it is probable that all could have been used in that meaning.

The complete record of cormorant names appears at the Phalacrocoracidae.

Kosa 'elephant-goad' (which referred to the shape of the hooked bill of the cormorant) is an old and still-used popular name for 'cormorant'. Modern ornithological Malaysian restricts kosa only to the anhinga, which has a straight bill, obscuring the original descriptive relevance of the name as applied to the cormorants.

Modern Malaysian pependang and Indonesian pecuk, both 'cormorant', are used in names both for anhinga and for cormorants, still reflecting the popular perception that they are both the same kind of bird. Indonesian pecuk ular or pecuk-ular 'snake-cormorant' refers particularly to the anhinga whose long snake-like neck is also recalled in the alternate English name 'snakebird'.

Ornithological naming

Form of Name	Original Meaning	Ornithological Malaysian	Ornithological Indonesian
pecuk	'cormorant'	---	Anhinga, Phalacrocorax (Phalacrocoracidae)
pecuk padi	'paddy-cormorant'	---	Phalacrocorax (Phalacrocoracidae)
pecuk ular	'snake-cormorant'	---	Anhinga
pependang	'cormorant'	Anhinga, Phalacrocorax (Phalacrocoracidae)	---
kosa	'elephant goad'	Anhinga	---

Species names

SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN		MALAY			OTHER S. E. ASIAN		EAST ASIAN
Anhinga
Latin	English	Malaysian	Other M	Indonesian	Thai	Vietnamese	Chinese	Japanese
Anhinga melanogaster	East Asian Darter Darter Indian darter Asian darter	Burung Kosa 'elephant-goad bird' (name shared with Phalacrocorax carbo) (25, 26, 28, alt in 24) Burung Pependang Timur 'eastern cormorant (bird)' (24)		Burung Pecuk-ular Asia 'Asian snake-cormorant (bird)' Burung Pecuk Ular 'snake-cormorant (bird)' (29)	นกอ้ายงั่ว nók âay-ŋûa 'anhinga (bird)'	Chim Cổ rắn 'snake-necked bird' (12, 34) or Chim Điêng điểng 'anhinga bird' (12, 34)	黑腹蛇鹈 (黑腹蛇鵜) hēi-fù shé-tí 'black-bellied snake-pelican'	アジアヘビウ (アジア蛇鵜) ajia hebi-u 'Asian snake cormorant'

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