Lists

10 Bird Species with Difficult-to-pronounce Names

February 5, 2026 by Kai Pflug No Comments

I recently watched a video on the Onion News Network, the only news source I trust more than Truth Social. The video’s title was “213 killed in how do you pronounce that?“.

Of course, with my brain now trained to check any information for its potential relevance for birds and birding, this reminded me of the times I saw birds and almost did not dare to point them out, not knowing how to pronounce them (kind of “The bird that dare not speak its name“, though I know this means something else).

So, based on these thoughts, here is a list of difficult-to-pronounce bird names, with some pronunciation tips provided by ChatGPT.

  1. Przevalski’s Pinktail – typically “shuh-VAL-skee” or “per-zhe-VAL-skee.”
  2. Prigogine’s Double-collared Sunbird – “Varies wildly: PREE-go-zheen, PRIH-goh-jine, etc.
  3. Taczanowski’s Ground-Tyrant – usually “Tah-chan-OV-ski.”
  4. Modest’s Sunbird (named for a person rather than personality) – Often misread as an adjective.
  5. Severtzov’s Grouse / Tit-Warbler – typically “SEV-ert-zov” or “SEH-ver-tsov.”
  6. Chachalaca – “chah-chah-LAH-kah.”
  7. Beaudouin’s Snake-Eagle – “Bo-dwan.”
  8. Huia – “HOO-ee-ah” (extinct species)
  9. Schlegel’s Asity – “SHLAY-gel” (not a problem for Germans but possibly for anybody else)
  10. Soemmerring’s Pheasant – usually “ZEM-er-ing” or “SUR-mer-ing”

If you find any of the names above easy to pronounce, congratulations – but don’t boast about it, it will not make you any new friends!

Cover Photo: Przevalski’s Pinktail, Ruoergai, China, July 2021

Written by Kai Pflug
Kai has lived in Shanghai for 22 years. He only started birding after moving to China, so he is far more familiar with Chinese birds than the ones back in his native Germany. As a birder, he considers himself strictly average and tries to make up for it with photography, which he shares on a separate website. Alas, most of the photos are pretty average as well. He hopes that few clients of his consulting firm—focused on China’s chemical industry—ever find this blog, as it might raise questions about his professional priorities. Much of his time is spent either editing posts for 10,000 Birds or cleaning the litter boxes of his numerous indoor cats. He occasionally considers writing a piece comparing the two activities.