1. General names
Chinese: The cisticolas are known as 扇尾莺 'fan-tailed warblers' in Mainland China and 錦鴝 'brocade robins' in Taiwan. The prinias are known as 鹪莺 'wren warblers' both on the Mainland and on Taiwan.
Japanese: The only member found in Japan is Cisticola juncidis (the Zitting cisticola), which is known as the セッカ sekka. This is written 雪加 'snow add' or 雪下 'under snow' in Chinese characters. The characters appear to be phonetically inspired (i.e., ateji, another case of Chinese characters used on an ad hoc basis in the absence of really suitable characters.
The word セッカ sekka is also used in the names of a number of birds in the Sylviidae, including the Megalurinae.
Vietnamese: All members of the Cisticolidae are known as Chiền chiện in Vietnamese. This name is also used for Megalurus palustris (Striated grassbird) -- see Megalurinae.
2. Species names
SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH |
CHINESE |
JAPANESE |
VIETNAMESE |
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Latin |
English |
Chinese |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Other J |
Vietnamese |
Other V |
| Cisticola | ||||||||
Cisticola juncidis |
Zitting cisticola or Fantailed cisticola Rufous fantail warbler (Cheng) Fantail warbler |
棕扇尾莺 'reddish-brown fan-tail warbler' |
棕扇尾鶯 'reddish-brown fan-tail warbler' 錦鴝 'brocade robin' (former official name) |
セッカ (雪加 or 雪下) sekka 'sekka' (written with ateji 'snow add' or 'snow under') |
Chiền chiện đồng hung 'reddish field chien chien' |
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| Cisticola exilis |
Golden-headed cisticola Bright-headed cisticola Golden-headed fantail warbler (Cheng) Gold-capped cisticola Bright-capped cisticola Yellow-headed fantail warbler |
金头扇尾莺 'golden-headed fan-tail warbler' |
黄頭扇尾鶯 'yellow-headed fan-tail warbler' 白頭錦鴝 'white-headed brocade robin' (former official name) |
タイワンセッカ (台湾雪加 or 台湾雪下) Taiwan sekka 'Taiwanese sekka' |
Chiền chiện đồng vàng 'golden field chien chien' |
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| Rhopophilus | ||||||||
| Rhopophilus pekinensis |
White-browed Chinese warbler White-browed bush dweller (Cheng) Chinese hill warbler |
山鹛 'mountain babbler' |
カラチメドリ (唐知目鳥) kara chime-dori 'Chinese chimé bird' |
Sơn mi 'mountain babbler' (from Chinese) (Wikipedia) |
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| Prinia | ||||||||
| Prinia crinigera Prinia criniger |
Striated prinia Hill prinia (Cheng) |
山鹪莺 'mountain wren-warbler' |
斑紋鷦鶯 'stripe fine-patterned wren warbler' |
ハウチワドリ (羽団扇鳥) ha-uchiwa-dori 'feather round-fan bird' |
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| Prinia polychroa |
Brown prinia Brown hill prinia (Cheng) David's hill warbler Brown hill warbler |
褐山鹪莺 'brown mountain wren-warbler' |
ヤマハウチワドリ (山羽団扇鳥) yama ha-uchiwa-dori 'mountain feather round-fan bird' |
Chiền chiện núi 'mountain chien chien' |
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| Prinia atrogularis |
Hill prinia White-browed prinia Black-throated hill prinia (Cheng) |
黑喉山鹪莺 'black-throated mountain wren-warbler' (1, 2, 3, 4) 黑喉鹪莺 'black-throated wren-warbler' (5) |
ノドグロハウチワドリ (喉黒羽団扇鳥) nodo-guro ha-uchiwa-dori 'black-throated feather round-fan bird' |
Chiền chiện núi họng trắng 'white-throated mountain chien chien' |
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| Prinia rufescens |
Rufescent prinia Lesser brown prinia Dark-crowned hill prinia (Cheng) Dark-crowned wren warbler |
暗冕山鹪莺 'dark-crowned mountain wren-warbler' (2, 4) 暗冕鹪莺 'dark-crowned wren-warbler' (1, 3, 5) |
チャイロハウチワドリ (茶色羽団扇鳥) cha-iro ha-uchiwa-dori 'brown feather round-fan bird' |
Chiền chiện đầu nâu 'brown-headed chien chien' |
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| Prinia hodgsonii |
Grey-breasted prinia Franklin's prinia Grey-breasted hill prinia (Cheng) Franklin's wren warbler |
灰胸山鹪莺 'grey-breasted mountain wren-warbler' (2, 4) 灰胸鹪莺 'grey-breasted wren warbler' (1, 3, 5) |
ハイイロムネハウチワドリ (灰色胸羽団扇鳥) hai-iro-mune ha-uchiwa-dori 'grey-breasted feather round-fan bird' |
Chiền chiện lưng xám 'grey-backed chien chien' Chiền chiện ngực xám 'grey-breasted chien chien' (13) |
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Latin |
English |
Chinese |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Other J |
Vietnamese |
Other V |
| Prinia flaviventris |
Yellow-bellied prinia Yellow-bellied hill prinia (Cheng) Yellow-bellied wren warbler |
灰胸鹪莺 'grey-breasted wren warbler' (2, 4) 黄腹鹪莺 'yellow-bellied wren-warbler' (1, 3, 5) |
灰頭鷦鶯 'grey-headed wren-warbler' |
灰头鹪莺 'grey-headed wren-warbler' (6, 7) 灰头竿鴓 'grey-headed pole warbler' (old) |
アオハウチワドリ (青羽団扇鳥) ao ha-uchiwa-dori 'blue feather round-fan bird' |
Chiền chiện bụng vàng 'golden-bellied chien chien' |
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| Prinia inornata Prinia subflava  Note |
Plain prinia Greater brown hill prinia (Cheng) Brown wren warbler Greater brown wren warbler |
纯色山鹪莺 'pure-coloured mountain wren-warbler' (2, 4) 褐头鹪莺 'brown-headed wren-warbler' (1, 3, 5) |
褐頭鷦鶯 'brown-headed wren-warbler' |
マミハウチワドリ (眉羽団扇鳥) mami ha-uchiwa-dori 'eye-browed feather round-fan bird' |
Chiền chiện bụng hung 'reddish-bellied chien chien' |
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3. Notes
1. The name 鹪莺 ('wren warbler') in Chinese is interesting because it takes the first syllable of the word for 'wren' (鹪鹩 ) and combines it with the word for 'warbler' (莺 ). The word is essentially one word, indivisible, but the writing system breaks it up into two separate characters, which are then free to be used in new words. See also the wren babblers.
