Emberizidae

Under Sibley and Monroe, the Emberizinae are a subfamily of Fringillidae, which also include the Fringillinae (finches). The Vietnamese name for the Emberizidae is Phân họ Sẻ đồng, the same as that for the Fringillidae.

1. General names

Chinese:

The buntings in Chinese are all known as 鹀 wú. The word does not occur on its own, being found only in combination, and it is not necessarily a familiar term to the average Chinese. As cage birds, however, several of the buntings have popular names.

Japanese sources indicate that the character 鵐 was originally applied to the quails in Chinese. Use of the character to refer the シトド shitodo or bunting is said to be a Japanese innovation.

Japanese:

Buntings were originally known as シトド shitodo in Japanese, written 鵐 or 巫鳥. (This is a good example of a character existing in two forms: 巫 wū meaning 'shaman', used for its phonetic value and probably the original character, and 鵐 wú where the 'bird' radical has been added at the right to disambiguate the meaning. Other examples of this kind of phenomenon can be found at the orioles and wagtails.)

As noted above, the character 鵐 appears to originally have been applied to quails in Chinese and its use for the buntings may be a Japanese innovation.

シトド shitodo is now regarded as a literary or obselete term in Japanese, although many exotic buntings are known scientifically as shitodo. The main common names used for the native buntings are:

Name	Meaning	Characters	Meaning of characters	Referents
ホオジロ hō-jiro	'white-cheek'	頬白	cheek + white	Applied generally to wide range of buntings and used for the name of the family
ホオアカ hō-aka	'red-cheek'	頬赤	cheek + red	Emberiza fucata and E. pusilla
ノジコ no-jiko	'field jiko'	1. 野路子 2. 野鵐	1. field + road + child 2. field + bunting	E. sulphurata and E. rutila
アオジ ao-ji	'blue ji'	1. 青鵐, also 2. 蒿雀	1. blue + bunting 2. mugwort + finch (from Chinese)	E. spodocephala, E. aureola, and E. citrinella
クロジ kuro-ji	'black ji'	黒鵐	black + bunting	E. variabilis
カシラダカ kashira-daka	'head high'	頭高	head + high	E. rustica
チャキンチョウ chakin-chō	'tea gold bird' (or possibly 'tea-cloth bird')	茶金鳥	tea + gold + bird	E. melanocephala and E. bruniceps
ジュリン jurin		寿林	longevity + forest	Reed buntings: E. schoeniclus, E. yessoensis, E. pallasi

The ji in no-jiko, ao-ji, and kuro-ji appear to be etymologically related.

Vietnamese:

The buntings are officially known as Sẻ đồng or 'field sparrows' in Vietnamese. This name is also applied to some of the finches (Fringillidae).

Some dictionaries list Sẻ đất 'ground sparrow' as the Vietnamese word for 'bunting'.

In some bilingual dictionaries, the word Chim choi choi is sometimes applied to the buntings (and the whiteyes), although it is officially used for the plovers.

2. Species names

EMBERIZINAE
SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH		CHINESE			JAPANESE		VIETNAMESE
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Other J	Vietnamese	Other V
Melophus
Melophus lathami Emberiza lathami	Crested bunting	凤头鹀 fèng-tóu wú 'phoenix-headed bunting'	冠鵐 guàn wú 'crested bunting'		レンジャクノジコ (連雀野路子) renjaku no-jiko 'waxwing field jiko'		Sẻ đồng mào 'crested field sparrow'
Latoucheornis
Latoucheornis siemsseni Emberiza siemsseni	Slaty bunting Fokien Blue Bunting Blue bunting (Cheng)	蓝鹀 lán wú 'blue bunting'			ウスグロホオジロ (薄黒頬白) usu-guro hō-jiro 'dusky-black white-cheek'
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Other J	Vietnamese	Other V
Emberiza
Emberiza calandra Miliaria calandra	Corn bunting	黍鹀 shǔ wú 'broomcorn-millet bunting'			ハタホオジロ (旗?頬白) hata hō-jiro 'flag? white-cheek' (character for hata is a guess).
Emberiza citrinella	Yellowhammer Eastern yellow bunting (Cheng) Eastern yellowhammer	黄鹀 huáng wú 'yellow bunting'			キアオジ (黄青鵐, 黄蒿雀) ki ao-ji 'yellow blue-bunting'
Emberiza leucocephalos Emberiza leucocephala	Pine bunting	白头鹀 bái-tóu wú 'white-headed bunting'	白頭鵐 bái-tóu wú 'white-headed bunting'		シラガホオジロ (白髪頬白) shira-ga hō-jiro 'white-haired white-cheek'
Emberiza cia	Western rock bunting Rock bunting (Cheng) Eurasian rock bunting	淡灰眉岩鹀 dàn-huī-méi yán-wú 'light grey-eyebrowed rock bunting' (2, 4) 灰眉岩鹀 huī-méi yán-wú 'grey-eyebrowed rock bunting' (1, 3, 5)			ヒゲホオジロ hige-hō-jiro 'bearded white-cheek' ハイガシラホオジロ (灰頭頬白) hai-gashira hō-jiro 'grey-headed white-cheek'
Emberiza godlewski	Eastern rock bunting Godlewski's bunting Chestnut-lined rock bunting	灰眉岩鹀 huī-méi yán-wú 'grey-eyebrowed rock bunting' (2, 4) 戈氏岩鹀 Gē-shì yán-wú 'Mr Ge's rock bunting' (3) Note			ミヤマヒゲホオジロ miyama hige-hō-jiro 'deep-mountain bearded white-cheek'
Emberiza cioides	Meadow bunting (Cheng) Siberian meadow bunting	三道眉草鹀 sān-dào-méi cǎo-wú 'three-line brow grass bunting'	草鵐 cǎo-wú 'grass bunting'	三道眉草鸟 sān-dào-méi cǎo niǎo 'three-line brow grass bird' 韩鹀 hán wú 'Han (place name) bunting' 山带子 shān dàizi 'mountain ribbon' 山麻雀 shān má-què 'mountain sparrow/finch' 小栗鹀 xiǎo lì wú 'small chestnut bunting' 铁雀 tiě-què 'iron sparrow/finch'	ホオジロ (頬白) hō-jiro 'white-cheek'	シトド (鵐, 巫鳥) shitodo 'shitodo' (old)
Emberiza jankowskii	Jankowski's bunting	栗斑腹鹀 lì-bān fù wú 'chestnut stripe belly bunting'			コマホオジロ (駒頬白) koma hō-jiro 'robin white-cheek'
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Other J	Vietnamese	Other V
Emberiza buchanani	Grey-necked bunting	灰颈鹀 huī-jǐng wú 'grey-necked bunting'			イワバホオジロ (岩場頬白) iwa-ba hō-jiro 'rocky place white-cheek'
Emberiza hortulana	Ortolan bunting	圃鹀 pǔ-wú 'garden bunting'			ズアオホオジロ (頭青頬白) zu-ao hō-jiro 'blue-headed white-cheek'
Emberiza tristrami	Tristram's bunting	白眉鹀 bái-méi wú 'white-browed bunting'	白眉鵐 bái-méi wú 'white-browed bunting'		シロハラホオジロ (白腹頬白) shiro-hara hō-jiro 'white-bellied white-cheek'
Emberiza fucata	Chestnut-eared bunting (Cheng) Grey-hooded bunting Grey-headed bunting	栗耳鹀 lì-ěr wú 'chestnut-eared bunting'	赤胸鵐 chì-xiōng wú 'red-breasted bunting'	赤胸鹀 chì-xiōng wú 'red-breasted bunting' (6, 7)	ホオアカ (頬赤) hō-aka 'red-cheek'	シトド (鵐, 巫鳥) shitodo 'shitodo' (old)	Sẻ đồng đầu xám 'grey-headed field sparrow'
Emberiza pusilla	Little bunting	小鹀 xiǎo wú 'small bunting'	小鵐 xiǎo wú 'small bunting'	鬼头儿 guǐtóur 'demon head'	コホオアカ (小頬赤) ko hō-aka 'small red-cheek'		Sẻ đồng lùn 'short/dwarf field sparrow'
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Other J	Vietnamese	Other V
Emberiza chrysophrys	Yellow-browed bunting	黄眉鹀 huáng-méi wú 'yellow-eyebrowed bunting'	黄眉鵐 huáng-méi wú 'yellow-eyebrowed bunting'		キマユホオジロ (黄眉頬白) ki-mayu hō-jiro 'yellow-eyebrowed white-cheek'
Emberiza rustica	Rustic bunting	田鹀 tián wú 'field bunting'	田鵐 tián wú 'field bunting'		カシラダカ (頭高) kashira-daka 'high-head'	カシラ (頭) kashira 'kashira' (=head)
Emberiza elegans	Yellow-throated bunting (Cheng) Yellow-headed bunting	黄喉鹀 huáng-hóu wú 'yellow-throated bunting'	黄喉鵐 huáng-hóu wú 'yellow-throated bunting'		ミヤマホオジロ (深山頬白) mi-yama hō-jiro 'deep mountain white-cheek'
Emberiza aureola	Yellow-breasted bunting	黄胸鹀 huáng-xiōng wú 'yellow-breasted bunting'	金鵐 jīn wú 'golden bunting'	禾花雀 hé huā-què 'grain flower finch/sparrow' (花雀 huā-què = 'Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) 寒雀 hán-què 'cold finch/sparrow' 黄胆 huáng-dǎn 'yellow gallbladder/bravery' 黄麻雀 huáng má-què 'yellow sparrow' 老铁背 lǎo tiě-bèi 'old steel back' 黄豆瓣 huáng dòu-bàn 'yellow bean petal' 麦黄雀 mài huáng-què 'wheat yellow sparrow/finch'	シマアオジ (縞青鵐, 縞蒿雀, 島青鵐, 島蒿雀) shima ao-ji 'striped blue bunting' or 'island blue bunting'		Sẻ đồng ngực vàng 'golden-breasted field sparrow'
Emberiza rutila	Chestnut bunting Ruddy bunting (Cheng)	栗鹀 lì wú 'chestnut bunting'	銹鵐 xiù wú 'rusty bunting'	紫背 zǐ-bèi 'purple back' 红金钟 hóng jīnzhōng 'red gold clock (=click beetle?)'	シマノジコ (縞野路子, 縞野鵐, 島野路子, 島野鵐) shima no-jiko 'striped field jiko' or 'island field jiko'		Sẻ đồng hung 'reddish field sparrow'
Emberiza koslowi	Tibetan bunting (Cheng) Koslow's bunting	藏鹀 Zàng wú 'Tibetan bunting'			ムナオビホオジロ (胸帯頬白) muna-obi hō-jiro 'chest-stripe white-cheek'
Emberiza melanocephala	Black-headed bunting	黑头鹀 hēi-tóu wú 'black-headed bunting'	黑頭鵐 hēi-tóu wú 'black-headed bunting'		ズグロチャキンチョウ (頭黒茶金鳥) zu-guro chakin-chō 'black-headed tea-gold (tea-cloth?) bird'
Emberiza bruniceps	Red-headed bunting	褐头鹀 hè-tóu wú 'brown-headed bunting'		红头鹀 hóng-tóu wú 'red-headed bunting' (7)	チャキンチョウ (茶金鳥) chakin-chō 'tea-gold (tea-cloth?) bird'
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Other J	Vietnamese	Other V
Emberiza sulphurata	Japanese yellow bunting Siebold's bunting	硫黄鹀 liú-huáng wú 'sulphur yellow bunting'	野鵐 yě wú 'wild bunting'		ノジコ (野路子, 野鵐) no-jiko 'field jiko' (jiko written 'field child' or with the character for 'bunting')	シトド (鵐, 巫鳥) shitodo 'shitodo' (old)
Emberiza spodocephala	Black-faced bunting Grey-headed black-faced bunting (Cheng) Masked bunting	灰头鹀 huī-tóu wú 'grey-headed bunting' or 灰头黑脸鹀 huī-tóu hēi-liǎn wú 'grey-headed black-faced bunting' (Alternative in 5)	黑臉鵐 hēi-liǎn wú 'black-faced bunting'	青头儿 qīng-tóur 'blue head'	アオジ (青鵐, 蒿雀) ao-ji 'blue bunting' (the second pair of characters mean 'mugwort finch/sparrow', presumably a Chinese name)	シトド (鵐, 巫鳥) shitodo 'shitodo' (old)	Sẻ đồng mặt đen 'black-faced field sparrow'
Emberiza variabilis	Grey bunting (Cheng) Japanese grey bunting	灰鹀 huī wú 'grey bunting'			クロジ (黒鵐) kuro-ji 'black bunting'
Emberiza pallasi	Pallas's bunting Pallas's reed bunting (Cheng)	苇鹀 wěi wú 'reed bunting'	葦鵐 wěi wú 'reed bunting'		シベリアジュリン (シベリア寿林) Shiberia jurin 'Siberian jurin' (jurin written 'longevity-forest')
Emberiza yessoensis	Ochre-rumped bunting Japanese reed bunting Chinese reed bunting (Cheng)	红颈苇鹀 hóng-jǐng wěi wú 'red-necked reed bunting'			コジュリン (小寿林) ko jurin 'small jurin' (jurin written 'longevity-forest')
Emberiza schoeniclus	Reed bunting	芦鹀 lú wú 'reed bunting'	蘆鵐 lú wú 'reed bunting'		オオジュリン (大寿林) ō jurin 'large jurin' (jurin written 'longevity-forest')		Sẻ đồng lầy 'marsh field sparrow' (13)
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Other J	Vietnamese	Other V
Calcarius
Calcarius lapponicus	Lapland longspur Lapland bunting (Cheng)	铁爪鹀 tiě-zhǎo wú 'steel-clawed bunting'	鐵爪鵐 tiě-zhǎo wú 'steel-clawed bunting'		ツメナガホオジロ (爪長頬白) tsume-naga hō-jiro 'long-nailed white-cheek'
Plectrophenax
Plectrophenax nivalis	Snow bunting	雪鹀 xuě wú 'snow bunting'	雪鵐 xuě wú 'snow bunting'		ユキホオジロ (雪頬白) yuki hō-jiro 'snow white-cheek'
Passerella
Passerella iliaca Zonotrichia iliaca	Fox sparrow	狐色雀鹀 hú-sè què-wú 'fox-coloured finch/sparrow-bunting' (4) 狐色带鹀 hú-sè dài-wú 'fox-coloured belt-bunting' (5)			ゴマフスズメ (胡麻斑雀) goma-fu suzume 'sesame spotted sparrow'
Zonotrichia
Zonotrichia leucophrys	White-crowned sparrow	白冠带鹀 bái-guàn dài-wú 'white-crested belt bunting'			ミヤマシトド (深山鵐) mi-yama shitodo 'deep mountain bunting'
Zonotrichia atricapilla	Golden-crowned sparrow	金冠带鹀 jīn-guàn dài-wú 'gold-crested belt bunting'			キカシラシトド (黄頭鵐) ki-gashira shitodo 'yellow-headed bunting'
Passerculus
Passerculus sandwichensis Ammodramus sandwichensis	Savannah sparrow Savanna sparrow	细树草鹀 xì-shù cǎo-wú 'thin tree grass bunting' (4) 稀树草鹀 xī-shù cǎo-wú 'scarce tree grass bunting' (5) or 稀树美洲草鹀 xī-shù Měizhōu cǎo-wú 'scarce tree American grass bunting' (Alternative in 5)			サバンナシトド (サバンナ鵐) sabanna shitodo 'savannah bunting'
Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Other J	Vietnamese	Other V