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Simple Japanese Bird Names
Examples of the straightforward adoption of Chinese characters (kanji)
| Japanese word | Meaning | Chinese character chosen | Chinese meaning | Modern Chinese pronunciation | Comments |
| kiji | 'pheasant' | 雉 |
'pheasant' | ||
| uzura | 'quail' | 鶉 |
'quail' | In Chinese, 鶉 is now used in the compound 'quail' | |
| ahiru | 'domestic duck' | 鶩 |
'domestic duck' (formal) | Also written 家鴨 | |
| tsuru | 'crane' | 鶴 |
'crane' | ||
| shigi | 'snipe' | 鷸 |
'snipe' | A Japanese character, 鴫, has also been invented to represent this bird | |
| kamome | 'gull' | 鴎 |
'gull' | ||
| misago | 'osprey' | 鶚 |
'osprey' | ||
| taka | 'hawk' | 鷹 |
'hawk' | ||
| tobi | 'kite' | 鳶 |
'kite' | ||
| haitaka | 'sparrow hawk' | 鷂 |
'sparrow hawk' (originally) | ||
| hayabusa | 'falcon' | 隼 |
'falcon' | , | |
| u | 'cormorant' | 鵜 |
'cormorant' (originally) | Modern Chinese uses a different name for the cormorant | |
| sagi | 'heron' | 鷺 |
'heron' | ||
| mozu | 'shrike' | 鵙 |
'shrike' (old) | Several ways exist to write mozu | |
| kasasagi | 'magpie' | 鵲 |
'magpie' | ||
| uguisu | 'warbler' | 鶯 (鴬) |
'warbler' | ||
| tsubame | 'swallow' | 燕 |
'swallow' | Also represents the variants tsubakuro and tsubakura | |
| hiyo(dori) | 'bulbul' | 鵯 |
'bulbul' | ||
| suzume | 'sparrow' | 雀 |
'sparrow' | In Chinese, now usually called |
