Bird-Nomenclature in an East African Area

Author(s): R. E. Moreau
Source: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London ,
1942, Vol. 10, No. 4 (1942), pp. 998-1006
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of School of Oriental and African
Studies
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/609139

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 Bird-nomenclature in an East African Area

By R. E. MOREAU, East African Agricultural Research Station, Amani

DURING some years study of the birds of Tanganyika, I have, as

opportunity served, collected the names used by the local
people. Most information has come from Wadigo (round Tanga),
Wabondei (inland from Tanga), Wasambaa (inland again), Wazigua
(south of Korogwe), Wakami (North Uluguru), and Wambwera
(Mafia Island), tribes whose languages evidently have much in common.'
Discounting tribal variants (for example, mpanja for pasa) and leaving
for future consideration a large number of names that await verifica-
tion, there are about 450 different roots and descriptive names that
I have felt to be sufficiently well-established to include in a list for
publication (1). Allowing for the fact that differentiation of species
cannot be so particular by the ordinary countryman as by the ornitholo-
gist, I have names for some species, as many as seven, for a large
percentage of the birds found in a strip of country about fifty miles
wide and extending from near the Kenya border south to the Rufiji
Delta. A few names extend right through our area; at the other
extreme, however, some species change their names within the
boundaries of a tribe, three or four times, for example, in the space
of eighty miles; and hence there is no doubt that a great many more
names remain to be collected.
A certain number of native names from this area have been

recorded by ornithologists, especially by Stuhlmann (2), and a f

by compilers of local vocabularies, especially for Kibondei by Woo
ward (3); but in the former works many of the names seem to m
to be doubtfully correct and in the latter most of the " meaning
are no more specific than " a kind of bird ". For the present purp
I have used only names about which I am reasonably satisfied
my own information.
In collecting the names I have tried to ascertain from my informant
whether the component roots conveyed any meaning to them. Sin
I know no tribal language, Kishwahili, which all the people concern

1 The origin of each bird-name quoted subsequently is indicated by initials, D., B

S., Z., K., W., respectively, by Sw. (for Swahili) where the name is also used in Zanzib
and by Dsm. (for Dar es Salaam) where the name is used in that coastal locality
Tanganyika but not apparently in Zanzibar.

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 BIRD-NOMENCLATURE IN AN EAST AFRICAN AREA 999

know well, has been the medium of interpretation; an

standing this limitation I have been able to get for 29 pe
names interpretations that in the light of a field know
birds can easily be recognized as conveying an appropr
To this 29 per cent must be added about another 15 per
that, to anyone familiar with the birds, are clearly on
often extremely good of their kind; some of these are
imitative jingles but can be resolved into some phrase
language. Altogether then, about 45 per cent of the rec
are what might be called " intelligible ". An African Pr
could much increase the percentage, but it must be em
for the best results he would have to be no less ornith
philologist.
Meanwhile, the body of data at present available see
of yielding critical information about the nature of the loc
perception of a class of natural objects: a class that dif
the mammals and reptiles in being much more numero
insects in being individually big enough for difference
readily appreciated; and from the plants in not as a rul
names on account of ngoma (ceremonial) and dawa (me
magical) uses. As will be shown below, the " intelligibl
bird-names can be divided, according to the inspiration
into a number of groups, to which 99 per cent of them are
without difficulty. And it may be instructive to compar
size of these groups with the results obtained by analysing
vocabulary of bird-names in the same way. For this pur
Dictionary of Birds (4) provides most suitable mate
African list, it does not purport to be complete, but it ind
in the author's opinion are only " book names ", fabric
scholar and therefore useless for our purpose, and it gives
tions as Newton was satisfied were acceptable; In order t
comparison with the African list may be as fair as po
used from Newton's book only those names which seem
been rooted in the soil of English-speaking Great Britai
The total of names so obtained is about 450, which is c
parable with the African total, though the proportion o
are " intelligible " is as high as 65 per cent.
In all the tribes the " old men " (wazee) are credited b
themselves with knowing more names than the younge
but there is nevertheless evidence that some names are of recent

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1ooo R. E. MOREAU-

formation. A Zigua name for a small owl is kak

first word being a generic term for a small owl an
transliteration of " padre ". One of the Red Bis
has a very prominent black "waistcoat", w
Wasambaa to have led to their naming' it kikot
garment.
In general, and allowing for the more extensive avifauna he has
to deal with, I should say that the African countryman was as dis-
criminative in his recognition of birds as his English opposite number,
but the African waterman less so. The nomenclature of African sea
and shore birds seems very muddled, and to some extent this applies
also to freshwater birds. The root vuvi Sw., meaning " fisherman ",
is apt to be applied to a range of fish-eating birds from the big king-
fishers (Ceryle and Megaceryle), the cormorant (Phalacrocorax) and
darter (Anhinga) to the herons (Ardeidae). A few very general names
are used in the African languages in a way corresponding closely to
English usage; e.g. -panga in all tribes serves for "hawk ", and
kuya Z., ntaa B., for one of the sparrowy out-of-plumage weaver-birds,
whether bishop (Euplectes), dioch (Quelea), or whydah (Coliuspasser),
that gather in immense flocks after the breeding season. Other general
names have a good natural basis, but they cut across ornithological
nomenclature in a way troublesome to the lexicographer. For example,
chamwewe K. denotes a white-bellied chicken-snatching raptorial
bird of whatever genus, -torondo B., S., Z., K., any species of
small weaver-bird with much red in the plumage, e.g. fire-finch
(Lagonosticta).
At the same time it is unusual for any bird-name to appear in the
African list in a number of different combinations (as, for example,
"finch " and "chat " do in English). The two main exceptions
I have met with are shorwe or shore Sw., originally a bulbul (Pycnonotus),
which reappears in such combination as shore jangwa W. (" creek-side
shore ") for other members of its family, and also for the very different
town sparrow (Passer griseus) as shore uwanda Dsm., the " backyard
shore ". The word jogoo (" domestic cock ") occurs in its diminutive
form in the names of several very different birds: of Smithornis,
whose cry can be mistaken for a distant cock-crow; of the hoopoe
(Upupa), whose crest recalls the cock's comb; and of a coucal
(Centropus), because that bird not infrequently starts calling at night
when stimulated by a wakeful village cock. Another case is more
surprising: bata, everywhere meaning a duck, but in the tribal

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 BIRD-NOMENCLATURE IN AN EAST AFRICAN AREA 1001

languages primarily a domesticated duck, appears in com

not only for goose but also for turkey, bata mzinga Sw. (
bata ", presumably because of its explosive noises), a
Vulturine Fish-eagle, Gypohierax, bata mchikichi Sw. (the " p
from its fondness for oil-palm fruit).
Sometimes I have had the same name given me for tw
birds, but on inquiry it has proved to be an epithet inspi
characteristic that they share. For example, a paradise f
(Tchitrea) and a whydah (Colius passer) are both quite app
denoted by the name chemirunda B., " him with the tail
the English "blackcap ", quoted by Newton for warbl
gull.) A more unusual instance is "cool-porridge ", ap
broadbill (Smithornis), mposauji Z., and also to the f
(Mirafra), Kihosoungula K., because they both make a bu
the former vocally and the latter with its wings.
As regards the actual formation of the African bird-name
common usage is to prefix the diminutive ki-, chi, ka-:
to a verb root, e.g. kibikula K. (kubikula = " to wag
a substantive, e.g. kichunju Dsm. (chunju = " crest "
onomatope, e.g. kanghagha S. More infrequently, and the
interchangeably with the diminutive prefix, the prefix m- of
thing " class is used, but substantives of whatever class
their prefix, as in luhoya K. (" axe "). A prefix is, howe
absent in names where one would seem appropriate, e.g. kom
(koma = "kill ", ndugu = "relative "). The Wabondei and
often prefix to their names che- or s(h)e-, what Woo
" a kind of relative expressive ", as in chemidanda B., she
And here I would note that it seems to me pedantic to tra
names as " the cunning one " or "the crested one ": t
has named his birds light-heartedly and colloquially, an
is much better conveyed by such renderings as " the imposto
(the bird is a great natural mimic) and " the crested chap ", o
best of all, illiterately, as " him with the crest ".
The eleven groups into which the African and the Eng
can easily and naturally be divided according to their in
are listed below, with examples. Only the first five are n
important, providing 9 per cent and upwards of either to
others are of interest.
Group 1. Motion. African examples: kidusa warum
"startle the hunters ") for a dove, Aplopelia, that sudde

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1002 R. E. MOREAU-

up from the forest floor; msenga S. (" the slasher "

hawk; kinyamhuwi K. (" the hoverer") for Ela
shouldered kite, and more abstrusely for the sam
(" the slacker ", presumably because it hangs about
in the air).
English examples: windhover, roller.
Group 2. Colour and pattern. African examples: Kitambi S.
(" 1., garment "-a red one worn only by initiates) for a red bishop-
bird (Euplectes); shekizeru S. (" the ashy chap ") for a grey harrier-
hawk (Gymnogenys); and gongolafuno K. (" duiker-back") for a
shrike (Antichromus), that is the same colour as the antelope.
English examples: goldfinch, whitethroat.
Group 3. Onomatapoeia. This is divisible in three:-
A. Names, apparently meaningless, that reproduce a noise.
African examples may be with or without a prefix, e.g. bwabwabwa K.
(Sigmodus), and kimbuwu S. (Smithornis). Sometimes different noises
made by the same bird provide two names for it, e.g. na'iwa B.S.
and kubwilu Z.K.S. for an oriole (Oriolus).
English examples: curlew, peewit.
B. Names that reproduce a noise but by means of interpretable
words. African examples: sayeikia S. (" famine will come ") for a
bronze cuckoo (Lampromorpha klaasi); ngechechangu K. (" give me
my cooking-pot ") for another cuckoo (Cuculus clamosus); mhokeuta Z.
(" draw the bow ") for a barbet (Trachyphonus). An especially good
example is afforded by a francolin (F. sephaena) called in Kibondei
by the apparently meaningless onomatope kikwelikwechi, but in
Kikami by the equally imitative ngilikilajako, which means " warthog
your tail ! ", an elliptical insult after the style of the Arabic Ummuk.
English examples (rare): wet-my-lips (quail).
C. Names suggested by a noise made by the bird. African;
examples: nkong'ota B., S., Sw., " knocker," any woodpecker (Picidee);
kimpulu zeze K., the button quail (Turnix), distinguished from
kimpululu, the quail (Coturnix) by adding the name of a musical
instrument, the note of which resembles the button-quail's; ngomam-
shindo Z. (" drum roll ") for a weaver (Quelea) associating in huge
whirring flocks. Best of all this class is perhaps chemalango B. for a
bird of the thrush family (Cossypha), which delivers a fine song with
notable empressement; malango means "the instructions given to
boys and girls at the initiation ceremony ".

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 BIRD-NOMENCLATURE IN AN EAST AFRICAN AREA 1003

English examples: reeler (grasshopper-warbler), saw-

(great tit).
Group 4. Food-habits. African examples: kumbakima S.
(" smite-monkey "), the great hawk-eagle Spizaetus; kadima mbuzi Z.
(" goatherd "), the yellow wagtail (Budytes), which in Africa follows
the flocks as in Europe; shesiafu S. (" the chap for driver ants "),
Neocossyphus.
English examples: pickmire (black-headed gull); moth-hawk
(night-jar).
Group 5. Habitat. African examples: kambalazi Z. (" little
chap in the pigeon-peas "), a flycatcher (Bradornis) who likes this
perch; kishundi mabuwa S. (" kishundi of the maize-stalks "), a shrike
(Tchagra); balamzila K. (" sit in the road "), a bunting (Emberiza).
English examples: moorhen, tree-creeper.
Group 6. Shape and size. African examples: gongofutu Z.
(" back-swelling "), the puff-back shrike, Dryoscopus; mtongo zimba
B., S., Sw., K. (" big mtongo ") for Spermestes fringilloides, a larger
edition of the tiny weaver Spermestes nigriceps (mtongo) ; mbilili (" long-
haired ") for the long-crested hawk-eagle, Lophaetus.
English examples: awl-bird (avocet), tuftie (duck).
Group 7. Nesting habits. African examples: suwagulamilanzi K.
("strip reeds "), a swamp weaver (Amblyospiza); chimbamchanga S.
(" dig sand "), a bee-eater (Melittophagus), that excavates its nest-hole.
English examples: hewhole (woodpecker), pudding-poke (long-
tailed tit).
Group 8. Season and weather. Only three African examples:
semchocho B. (" deluge chap "), a cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius) thought
to be especially vociferous in very heavy rain 1; langavura K (" rain-
caller "), another cuckoo (Clamator); and langazua K. (" suncaller),
a bee-eater (Merops). All three are birds that are present, or at least
obvious, only seasonally.
English examples: stormcock (missel thrush), rainbird (wood-
pecker).
Group 9. Personal attributes. African examples: kinuka B.
(little stinker), a wood-hoopoe (Rhinopomastus) with a foul smell;
lubozi (" fool "), a shrike (Nicator), this for the excellent reason that

1 Woodward (3) gives fula cholo "plenty of rain ": modern Wabondei agree that
the expression now in use is fua (i.e. mvua) mchocho, the latter word indicating heavy
unremitting rain.

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1004 R. E. MOREAU-

when its nest is approached it puts up an "in

performance like a mad thing.
English examples: loon (grebe), dotterel.
Group 10. Superstition. In Africa we have
mzanamulungu B., S. (" son of God "), a shrike (Si
not to be molested by the Wasambaa or Wabonde
elsewhere by a mere onomatope bwabwabwa; and
Tan. (" welcomer of the stranger ") for the cheerfull
back shrike (Dryoscopus), whose call is good luck.
are the owls and nightjars. The former among a
have only one falling into this group, but it is one
significance. Babewatoto W. or babulawatoto migh
a benevolent "head of a household " or "father of
since the bird's passing overhead is believed to st
blindness and to loosen his joints, it seems that h
of the bestowal of an honorific title on an object t
The nightjars (Caprimulgus), as elsewhere in the
baleful than the owls, and two of their names convey
degree of horror: mkatasanda Sw. (" the shroud-cu
B. (" the groper in the dark ").
Perhaps because it is very rarely seen although
often heard by night as well as by day, one of
(Cercococcyx) has a name, sekikoko S., also borne
(sheitani) especially troublesome to women.
English examples: deviling (swift), puckeridge
Group 11. Personal names. The only African ex
Hassani (house-sparrow).
English examples, which are numerous, include

The percentage distribution (to the nearest -5

"intelligible" African names between the gro
with that of the English in the following table:-

1 Yet babewatoto B. is also one of the names applied to the

weaver Vidua, a polygamous bird the full-plumaged male of w
panied by a number of females and immatures in sparrowy plum
certainly has no sinister connotation and must be translated " h
Since the above was written I have seen the new Swahili di
" babu " is given as the name of the disease (convulsions) cau
bird. Since " babu " appears not to be used for any other type o
that it may be a back-formation.

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 BIRD-NOMENCLATURE IN AN EAST AFRICAN AREA 1005.

Group. African. English.

1. Motion . . . . 65 9
2. Colour and pattern . . 9.5 17
3. Onomatopoeia-
A 30] 9
B 41 . . . . 44 .5 16-5
C J10 7 J
4. Food habits . . . 10 15
5. Habitat . . . 7 19.5
6. Shape and size . . . 8-5 7-5
7. Nest . . 4 3
8. Season and weather . . 15 35
9. Personal attributes . . 4 1-5
10. Superstition . . . 25 2
11. Personal names . . . .5 5
Unallocated . . . 2 5

The outstanding differen

half of the African names h
with less than one-sixth of
of types A and B than the
it is probable that names
finally interpreted, yield
44 per cent. Even allowing f
and the English proportio
it is probably related to the
which onomatopceia is so
African preoccupation with
food-habits, and habitat
African than to the Engl
the local African naming o
with the English; and in g

SUMMARY

African bird-names have

Territory to a total of abo

1 On the present figures, 44 p

the difference is, in the technical
of these figures being due to the
investigation brought the prop
same percentage (65 per cent) as
included no onomatopes at all o
the African list would be reduce
higher than in the English.

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1006 BIRD-NOMENCLATURE IN AN EAST AFRICAN AREA

half of them the derivation or inspiration has been ascertain

related to characters of the species. The modes of name-for
are outlined.

Subdivided by nature of inspiration, e.g. shape, onomatopceia,

habitat, food-habits, the names, of which many instances are given,
fall into eleven groups. The onomatopoeic, with 44 per cent of the
total, is by far the largest. A comparable list of English (non-literary)
bird-names gives, on being similarly analysed, a significantly smaller
proportion of onomatopceic names but a greater proportion of names
relating to colour, habitat, and food-habits. These differences apart
the African nomenclature repeatedly shows a close parallelism with
English and in general is appropriate and ingenious.

REFERENCES

(1) MOREAU, R. E. In Tanganyika Notes and Records, No. 10: "Bird names used in
Coastal North-Eastern Tanganyika Territory."
(2) REICHENOW, A., 1889. Ueber eine Vogelsammlung aus Ostafrika. J. Orn., 37,
264-286.

(3) WOODWARD, H. W., 1882. Collections for a Handbook of the Boondei Language,
S.P.C.K., London.
(4) NEWTON, A., 1893-6. A Dictionary of Birds, A. and C. Black, London.
(5) JOHNSON, F., 1939. A Standard Swahili-English Dictionary, O.U.P., London.

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