Along with the Recurvirostrinae, the Charadriinae (plovers and lapwings) belong to the Charadriidae. |
1. General names
Chinese: The plovers are known as 鸻 héng. The lapwings (genus Vanellus) are given the name 麦鸡 mài-jī or 'grain fowl', but this term does not appear in many ordinary dictionaries. The Northern lapwing (V. vanellus) has the alternative name of 田凫 tián-fú ('paddy wild-duck') or 绿田凫 lǜ tián-fú ('green paddy-wild-duck'). In the Taiwanese terminology, 鴴 héng is used for both lapwings and plovers. |
Japanese: The plovers are called チドリ chi-dori, written 千鳥 (meaning 'thousand bird'). Chi-dori can also be written 鵆, which is the same as 鸻 (above), except that the 'bird' radical is sandwiched in the middle instead of being placed on the right. The plovers are also called モモチドリ momochi-dori, written 百千鳥, meaning 'hundred-thousand bird' (also used for Cettia diphone, the Japanese bush warbler). The lapwings are known as ケリ keri, written 計里. The characters ('measure' + 'league/mile') are used solely for their phonetic value. The word keri may also be written 鳧, which originally referred to the wild duck. It is more often used as the character for kamo or 'wild duck' (see Anatidae). The name keri reflects the bird's cry. |
Vietnamese: Vietnamese ornithologists distinguish between plovers(Choi choi), and lapwings (Te). However, Te is not commonly found in ordinary dictionaries. |
2. Species names
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3. Notes
The distribution of the Charadriinae in East Asia can be seen at Tzung-Su Ding's Distribution of Charadriies in East Asia. |
1. There are some crossed wires in Mainland and Taiwanese usage:
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2. The connection between Japanese タゲリ ta-geri ('field or paddy lapwing'), written 田鳧 in Chinese characters, and 田凫 tián-fú ('paddy wild-duck'), an alternative Chinese name for the lapwing, is unclear. Is this a case where the Japanese have taken a Chinese character, 鳧, and given it a new meaning that has subsequently been borrowed back into Chinese? Or is 田凫 tián-fú a Chinese name for the lapwing that has been borrowed to write the Japanese word 田鳧 ta-geri? |
4. Cultural Notes
| 1. In Japanese haiku, the plover (ちどり chidori, written 千鳥) is a season word for winter. The plover is also called the 川千鳥 (kawa-chidori or 'river plover'), 浜千鳥 (hama-chidori or 'shore plover'), 群千鳥 (mure-chidori or 'flocking plover'), 夕千鳥 (yū-chidori or 'evening plover'), or 磯千鳥 (iso-chidori or 'rocky-shore plover'). |
2. The Japanese expression 千鳥足 chi-dori-ashi 'plover's feet' signifies an inability to walk straight when drunk. |
