The Sittinae (nuthatches) belong to the Sittidae, along with the Tichodrominae (wallcreepers). |
1. General names
Chinese: The nuthatches are known as 䴓 shī in Chinese. This is always found in combination, not as an independent word. It appears to be a naturalist's term rather than a name in popular usage. (If your browser shows only a square or a question mark, place your cursor over the top and the character will appear). |
Japanese: The only nuthatch found in Japan is Sitta europaea, which is known as the ゴジュウカラ gojū-kara. Linguistically speaking, the name ゴジュウカラ gojū-kara looks like a kind of tit since -kara (or -gara) is used in naming the tits. The name ゴジュウカラ gojū-kara literally means 'fifty tit', forming a nice parallel with the word シジュウカラ shijū-kara ('forty tit') or Great tit (Parus major). Kara (or -gara) is only found in combination, not as an independent word. The Chinese character (kanji) for kara is 雀, otherwise used to write the word ズズメ suzume or 'sparrow'. This is clearly due to the fact that there is no other Chinese character suitable to write -kara. |
Vietnamese: The nuthatches are known in Vietnamese as Trèo cây, meaning 'tree-climber'. |
2. Species names
ABOUT THIS TABLE (Hover cursor to see) 
SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH |
CHINESE |
JAPANESE |
VIETNAMESE |
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| Latin | English | Chinese (Mainland) | Chinese (Taiwan) | Other Ch | Japanese | Other J | Vietnamese | Other V |
Sitta europaea |
Eurasian nuthatch or Wood nuthatch Nuthatch (Cheng) |
普通䴓 pǔtōng shī 'common nuthatch' |
茶腹鳾 chá-fù shī 'brown-bellied nuthatch' |
穿树皮 chuān shù pí 'pierce tree bark' 松枝儿 sōng zhēr 'pine branch' |
ゴジュウカラ (五十雀) gojū-kara 'fifty tit' |
Trèo cây đít hung 'reddish-vented tree-climber' Trèo cây bụng hung 'reddish-bellied tree-climber' (Nguyen, Le & Phillipps) Clashes with following item. |
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| Sitta castanea |
Chestnut-bellied nuthatch | 栗腹䴓 lì-fù shī 'chestnut-bellied nuthatch' |
チャバラゴジュウカラ (茶腹五十雀) cha-bara gojū-kara 'brown-bellied fifty tit' |
Trèo cây bụng hung 'reddish-bellied tree-climber' |
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| Sitta himalayensis |
White-tailed nuthatch | 白尾䴓 bái-wěi shī 'white-tailed nuthatch' |
オジロゴジュウカラ (尾白五十雀) o-jiro gojū-kara 'white-tailed fifty tit' |
Trèo cây Himalai 'Himalayan tree-climber' |
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| Sitta victoriae | White-browed nuthatch | 白眉䴓 bái-méi shī 'white-eyebrowed nuthatch' |
マミジロゴジュウカラ (眉白五十雀) mami-jiro gojū-kara 'white-eyebrowed fifty tit' |
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| Sitta villosa |
Chinese nuthatch or Snowy-browed nuthatch Black-headed nuthatch (Cheng) |
黑头䴓 hēi-tóu shī 'black-headed nuthatch' |
チョウセンゴジュウカラ (朝鮮五十雀) Chōsen gojū-kara 'Korean fifty tit' |
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| Sitta yunnanensis |
Yunnan nuthatch | 滇䴓 Diān shī 'Yunnan nuthatch' |
ウンナンゴジュウガラ (雲南五十雀) Unnan gojū-gara 'Yunnan fifty tit' |
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| Latin | English | Chinese (Mainland) | Chinese (Taiwan) | Other Ch | Japanese | Other J | Vietnamese | Other V |
| Sitta leucopsis |
White-cheeked nuthatch | 白脸䴓 bái-liǎn shī 'white-faced nuthatch' |
ホオジロゴジュウカラ (頬白五十雀) hō-jiro gojū-kara 'white-cheeked fifty tit' |
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| Sitta frontalis |
Velvet-fronted nuthatch | 绒额䴓 róng-é shī 'velvet forehead nuthatch' |
アカハシゴジュウカラ (赤嘴五十雀) aka-hashi gojū-kara 'red-billed fifty tit' |
Trèo cây trán đen 'black forehead tree-climber' |
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| Sitta solangiae | Yellow-billed nuthatch (Cheng) Lilac nuthatch |
淡紫䴓 dàn-zǐ shī 'pale-purple nuthatch' |
キバシゴジュウカラ (黄嘴五十雀) ki-bashi gojū-kara 'yellow-billed fifty tit' |
Trèo cây mỏ vàng 'golden-billed tree-climber' |
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| Sitta azurea | Blue nuthatch Azure nuthatch |
蓝䴓 lán shī 'blue nuthatch' |
スグロゴジュウカラ (す黒五十雀) su-guro gojū-kara '? black fifty tit' |
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| Sitta magna |
Giant nuthatch | 巨䴓 jù shī 'giant nuthatch' |
オニゴジュウカラ (鬼五十雀) oni gojū-kara 'ogre fifty tit' |
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| Sitta formosa | Beautiful nuthatch | 丽䴓 lì shī 'beautiful nuthatch' |
ビナンゴジュウカラ (美男五十雀) binan gojū-kara 'handsome-man fifty tit' |
Trèo cây lưng đen 'black-backed tree-climber' |
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| Latin | English | Chinese (Mainland) | Chinese (Taiwan) | Other Ch | Japanese | Other J | Vietnamese | Other V |
3. Notes
The distribution of the Sittinae in East Asia can be seen at Tzung-Su Ding's Distribution of Sittidae in East Asia. |
