Oriolidae

Monroe and Sibley subsume the Oriolidae as the tribe Oriolini under the Corvinae, which in turn forms part of a new, enlarged Corvidae. In Asia, the Corvidae also includes the Cinclosomatinae, the Pachycephalinae (whistlers, etc.), the Dicrurinae (drongoes, fantails, etc.), the Aegithininae (ioras), and the Malaconotinae (wood shrikes).

1. General names

Chinese:

The Chinese name for the oriole is 黄鹂 huáng-lí, which means 'yellow oriole'. Non-yellow species drop the word 'yellow'. (Note: some naming systems retain the name 'yellow oriole' for all species reflecting the fact that huáng-lí is effectively a single word in spoken Chinese. In written Chinese, however, the character 鹂 lí 'oriole' is sufficient and the 黄 huáng 'yellow' is dropped.) The character for 鹂 lí consists of the phonetic 丽 lì (meaning 'beautiful') on the left and the character 鸟 niǎo (meaning 'bird') on the right. In Chinese, the oriole usually refers to the black-napped oriole (Oriolus chinensis), a bird famed for its song. A number of alternative names exist for this bird (see species list). The term 莺 yīng, which is now used for the warblers, is also traditionally applied to the oriole.

The 'Far Eastern English-Chinese Dictionary', published in Taiwan, gives 金鶯 jīn-yīng ('golden warbler') as the equivalent of English 'oriole'.

Japanese:

The Japanese word for 'oriole' is コウライウグイス (高麗鴬) Kōrai uguisu, meaning 'Korean warbler', suggesting that the Japanese traditionally see the bird as an 'exotic' rather than a native. The word Kōrai is the name of one of the ancient kingdoms of Korea. Kōrai uguisu specifically refers to the Oriolus chinensis, for which several terms exist, some clearly borrowed from Chinese. Note that the ウグイス uguisu itself is Cettia diphone or 'Japanese bush warbler', a song bird unrelated to the oriole.

Vietnamese:

The Vietnamese word for oriole is Vàng anh. Other names are:

Anh vàng	'oriole golden'
Hoàng anh	'yellow oriole'
Chim oanh	'bird warbler' = 'warbler bird'
Hoàng oanh	'yellow warbler'
Hoàng ly	(from the Chinese)
Chim choắt chòe
Chim chúyt chòe	(variant of the above)

The words anh, oanh and hoàng were originally borrowed from Chinese. Oanh is equivalent to 莺 yīng ('warbler') and hoàng is equivalent to 黄 huáng ('yellow').

2. Species names

Latin	English	Chinese	Chinese (Taiwan)	Other Ch	Japanese	Other J	Vietnamese	Other V
Oriolus
Oriolus xanthonotus	Dark-throated Oriole	黑喉黄鹂 hēi-hóu huáng-lí 'black-throated oriole'			ムナフコウライウグイス (胸斑高麗鴬) muna-fu Kōrai uguisu 'throat-stripe Korean warbler'
Oriolus oriolus	Eurasian golden oriole Golden oriole (Cheng) European golden oriole	金黄鹂 jīn huáng-lí 'golden oriole'			ニシコウライウグイス (西高麗鴬) nishi Kōrai uguisu 'western Korean warbler'
Oriolus tenuirostris	Slender-billed oriole	细嘴黄鹂 xì-zuǐ huáng-lí 'narrow-billed yellow oriole'			ミナミコウライウグイス (南高麗鴬) minami Kōrai uguisu 'southern Korean warbler'		Vàng anh mỏ nhỏ 'small-billed golden oriole' (from Internet cites list)
Oriolus chinensis	Black-naped oriole	黑枕黄鹂 hēi-zhěn huáng-lí 'black naped yellow oriole'	黃鸝 huáng-lí 'yellow oriole'	黄鹂 huáng-lí 'yellow oriole' (northern Chinese) 黄莺 huáng-yīng 'yellow warbler' (southern Chinese) 黄鸟 huáng niǎo 'yellow bird' 仓庚 or 鸧鹒 cānggēng 'oriole' 莺 yīng 'warbler' (obsolete) 黄爪落 huáng zhǎoluò 'yellow zhaoluo'	コウライウグイス (高麗鴬) Kōrai uguisu 'Korean warbler'	コウオウ (黄鴬) kō-ō 'yellow warbler' コウチョウ (黄鳥) kōchō 'yellow bird' チョウセンウグイス (朝鮮鴬) Chōsen uguisu 'Korean warbler'	Vàng anh Trung Quốc 'Chinese golden oriole'	Anh vàng 'golden oriole' Hoàng anh 'yellow oriole' Chim oanh 'warbler bird' Hoàng oanh 'yellow warbler' Hoàng ly from Chinese huánglí Hoàng tước 'yellow tuoc' Chim choắt chòe 'choat choe bird' Chim chúyt chòe variant of 'choat choe bird'
Oriolus xanthornus	Black-hooded oriole Asian black-headed oriole Black-headed oriole (Cheng)	黑头黄鹂 hēi-tóu huáng-lí 'black-headed yellow oriole'			ズグロコウラウグイス (高麗鴬) zu-guro Kōrai uguisu 'black-headed Korean warbler'		Vàng anh đầu đen 'black-headed golden oriole'
Oriolus cruentus	Black-and-crimson oriole	绯胸黄鹂 fēi-xiōng huáng-lí 'red-breasted yellow oriole'			ヒムネスミゴロモ (緋胸墨衣) hi-mune sumi-goromo 'scarlet-breasted ink / charcoal robe' (sumi could be 炭 'charcoal' or 墨 'black ink')
Oriolus trailli	Maroon oriole	朱鹂 zhū-lí 'vermilion oriole'	朱鸝 zhū-lí 'vermilion oriole'	栗色黄鹂 lì-sè huáng-lí 'chestnut-coloured yellow oriole' (6) 朱黄鹂 zhū huáng-lí 'vermilion yellow oriole'	ヒゴロモ (緋衣) hi-goromo 'scarlet robe'		Tử anh 'purple oriole'
Oriolus mellianus	Stresemann's maroon oriole Silver oriole (Cheng) Mell's maroon oriole	鹊鹂 què-lí 'magpie oriole' (2, 4) 鹊色鹂 què-sè lí 'magpie-coloured oriole' (1, 3, 5)		鹊色黄鹂 què-sè huáng-lí 'magpie-coloured yellow oriole' (6, 7)	ギンイロヒゴロモ (銀色緋衣) gin-iro hi-goromo 'silver scarlet-robe'

3. Cultural Notes

1. During the Ming Dynasty in China, the Black-naped Oriole (黄鹂 huáng-lí) was depicted in 'Mandarin Squares' (known as 补子 bǔzi) attached to official uniforms of high-ranking bureaucrats. It was the insignia of rank for Grade Eight of civilian official.