1. It is proposed to split the Herring gull (Larus argentatus) into at least four species: Larus argentatus, L. heuglini, L. vegae, and L. cachinnans. Of these, Howard & Moore 2003 accept L. cachinnans for status as a separate species. A number of common names have been proposed for these species, as seen in the following table:
| Scientific name |
English common name(s) |
Chinese common name(s)
(Cheng) and (ZGM) |
Other proposed Chinese common names |
Japanese common name (from the Web) |
Vietnamese common name
(Vo & Nguyen) and (Nguyen, Le & Phillipps) |
| Larus argentatus |
Herring gull |
银鸥
yín-ōu
'silver gull' (Mainland)
|
黑脊鷗
hēi-jǐ ōu
'black-spined gull' (Taiwan) |
セグロカモメ
(背黒鴎)
se-guro kamome
'black-backed gull'
ウスセグロカモメ
(薄背黒鴎)
usu se-guro kamome
'pale black-backed gull' |
Mòng bể chân vàng
'golden-legged sea gull' |
| Larus heuglini |
Heuglin's gull |
休氏银鸥
Xiū-shì yín-ōu
'Mr Xiu's silver gull' |
灰林银鸥
huī-lín yín ōu
'grey forest silver gull'
(M&P)
or 灰林鸥
huī-lín ōu
'grey forest gull'
(M&P) |
ホイグリンカモメ
(ホイグリン鴎)
Hoigurin kamome
'Heuglin gull' |
Mòng bể chân vàng
'golden-legged sea gull'
(Nguyen, Le & Phillipps) |
| Larus vegae |
Vega gull
Siberian gull
East Siberian gull |
西伯利亚银鸥
Xībólìyà yín-ōu
'Siberian silver gull' |
织女银鸥
zhī-nǚ yín-ōu
'weaving girl (=Vega) silver gull'
(M&P)
or
织女鸥
zhī-nǚ ōu
'weaving girl gull'
(M&P)
红脚银鸥
hóng-jiǎo yín-ōu
'Red-legged silver gull' (Viney) |
セグロカモメ
(背黒鴎)
se-guro kamome
'black-backed gull' |
Mòng bể Vega
'Vega sea gull'
(Nguyen, Le & Phillipps) |
| Larus cachinnans |
Yellow-legged gull |
黄腿鸥
huáng-tuǐ ōu
'yellow-legged gull' |
黄脚银鸥
huáng-jiǎo yín-ōu
'yellow-legged silver gull' (M&P, Viney)
or
黄脚鸥
huáng-jiǎo ōu
'yellow-legged gull'
(M&P) |
キアシセグロカモメ
(黄足背黒鴎)
ki-ashi se-guro kamome
'yellow-legged black-backed gull' |
- |
|
| 2. The Mew gull is sometimes regarded as Larus canus kamtschatschensis, sometimes as L. kamtschatschensis, in the latter case being given the name 东方海鸥 dōngfāng hǎi-ōu ('Oriental sea gull') (Viney). |
3. Mainland Chinese naming:
Chinese uses a single word, 鸥 ōu 'gull', to cover all members of the Larinae. A qualifier is added to indicate tribes or genera, providing a flexible and economical system of bird names that follows the scientific classification:
| 鸥 |
ōu |
'gull' |
Larini |
| 贼鸥 |
zéi-ōu |
'robber gull' |
Stercorariini |
| 剪嘴鸥 |
jiǎn-zuǐ ōu |
'scissor-billed gull' |
Rynchopini |
| 燕鸥 |
yàn-ōu |
'swallow-gull' |
Sterna |
| 浮鸥 |
fú-ōu |
'floating gull' |
Chlidonias |
| 玄鸥 |
xuán-ōu |
'dark gull' |
Anous/Gygis |
These are then modified with descriptors such as 短尾 duǎn-wěi ('short-tailed'), etc. to create species names. The attributes are drawn from English (e.g. 'black-tailed gull', 'black-bellied tern', 'large crested tern' etc.) or the scientific names (Larus argentatus = 银鸥 yín-ōu 'silver gull', Sterna albifrons = 白额燕鸥 bái-é yàn-ōu 'white forehead tern'). Some have been arrived at independently, such as the 'red-billed giant gull' (Caspian tern).
There is no unified name for the terns. Judging from the names, ('swallow gull', 'floating gull' and 'dark gull'), the terns are simply three different classes of gull.
|
4. Taiwanese naming:
Taiwanese names are more conservative than the Mainland names. The term 燕鷗 yàn-ōu 'swallow-gull' is used for almost all the terns, one curious exception being the Black tern (Chlidonias niger), known as the 黑浮鷗 hēi fú-ōu or 'black floating gull' both on Taiwan and the Mainland.
The names show influence from English and Japanese. Japanese influence is apparent in some of the descriptors used, e.g. Sterna anaethetus ('white-browed tern') and Chlidonias hybrida ('black-bellied tern'). On the Mainland 'black-bellied tern' means Sterna melanogaster.
|
5. Japanese naming:
Japanese is by no means as rich as Chinese in traditional bird names, but the ones that it does have seem to be better established in popular and official usage. Japanese uses simple names (without descriptors) for the most common birds. The two most common gull species are called カモメ kamome 'gull' (Larus canus) and ウミネコ umi-neko 'sea cat' (Larus crassirostris). Such is the power of names that many Japanese perceive kamome and umi-neko to be different types of bird, unlike English where they are simply regarded as different types of sea gull.
For other species, names are supplemented by descriptors relating to physical appearance or geographical range. Some seem to be from English (e.g., 'great black-headed gull'), but many appear to have been developed systematically and independently.
The terns are known as アジサシ aji-sashi. The marsh terns are distinguished as クロハラアジサシ kuro-hara aji-sashi ('black-bellied tern').
|
6. Vietnamese naming
The Vietnamese bird names appear to be of relatively recent origin and usage is not fully established. In particular, the word Nhàn 'tern' is not carried by non-specialist English-Vietnamese dictionaries, which give Én biển ('sea swallow') as the translation for 'tern'.
The Vietnamese naming is based on a small number of bird names (Nhàn, Mòng bể etc.) used in combination with descriptors for physical attributes (e.g., đen 'black', đầu trắng 'white-headed') or geographical range (e.g., Xumatra). These form a fairly simple system that, unlike Chinese, makes no attempt to regularise the terns according to genus. Although some names seem to follow English usage, for the most part they appear to be of independent origin.
|
