Heliornithidae

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.

Pedendang, the modern agreed name for the finfoot, derives from a single initial report by Robinson. He lists names for the finfoot as: "itik air, burung pedendang ?". Robinson marked names with [?] which he thought were suspect and which he could not reliably confirm even after numerous attempts.

There was early disagreement on the finfoot names. Madoc cited itik air, but could not confirm any other name. In addition to repeating itik air, Glenister respelled Robinson's name as burung pendendang (with an inserted -n- and no question mark). No one has followed Glenister here, apparently considering the respelling an error. However, subsequent modern ornithologists typically strip off all of Robinson's [?] markings, and pedendang, like most dubious Robinson names, is now uncritically accepted.

In fact the name looks suspiciously like a nonce fusion of pependang 'cormorant' and dendang 'crow', which are used in names for cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae), anhingas (Anhingidae), frigatebirds (Fregatidae), and boobies (Sulidae) -- all of which generally resemble the finfoot. It is likely that many of these kinds of birds traditionally shared the same suite of general names, and individual species- (or family-) particular names were not used.

One of these is Itik air 'wild duck' (literally 'water duck'). It is a very general descriptive which has always included not only wild ducks (Anatidae), but also grebes (Podicipedidae), finfoots (Heliornithidae) and other birds popularly perceived to be duck-like. Boobies (Sulidae) are also loosely considered ducks. Interpretation of itik air as a particular species-name came about from misreadings of Robinson and the other early sources, which clearly listed it as a name for more than a single kind of bird.

Species names

SCIENTIFIC & WESTERN		MALAY			OTHER S. E. ASIAN		EAST ASIAN
Heliopais
Latin	English	Malaysian	Other M	Indonesian	Thai	Vietnamese	Chinese	Japanese
Heliopais personatus Heliopais personata	Masked finfoot	Burung Pedendang 'finfoot (bird)' (old, 24, 25, 26, 28)	Itik Air 'water (=wild) duck' (old) Burung Pendendang 'finfoot (bird)' (error for pedendang) (old)	Burung Pedendang Topeng 'masked finfoot (bird)' Burung Kaki Sirip 'fin-footed bird' (29)	นกฟินฟุต nók fin-fút 'finfoot (bird)' (fin-fút from English 'finfoot')	Chim Chân bơi 'paddle-foot bird' (12, 13, 34)	亚洲鳍趾䴘 (亞洲鰭趾鷈) yàzhōu qí-zhǐ-tī 'Asian fin-footed grebe' (4) 拟鳍趾䴘 (擬鰭趾鷈) nǐ qí-zhǐ-tī 'pseudo fin-footed grebe' (5, 10)	アジアヒレアシ (アジア鰭足) ajia hire-ashi 'Asian fin-foot'

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

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

Pocket Checklist of the Birds of the Republic of Singapore / Senai Jenis-Jenis Burung di Singapura / 新加坡野鸟目录 by Lim Kim Seng Nature Society (Singapore) 1999

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

The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol. 2 - Passerines by Wells, David R., Christopher Helm, A&C Black, London 2007

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