Birds of Vietnam, Bird Species in Vietnam

Cuc Phuong National Park, Ninh Binh, Vietnam

Let's join AdventureGreen on our bird quests to learn about the different birds and bird species in Vietnam. Here you can find out more about the birding spots that these bird species are found.

The genus Rynchops, which are commonly known as skimmers, are tern-like birds in the family Laridae of the order Charadriiformes.
Some authorities place the genus Runchops in a separate family Rynchopidae (Ho Xuc Ca).
The genus name Rynchops is from the Ancient Greek rhunkhos meaning "bill" and kopto meaning "to cut off".

1/ Indian skimmer or Indian scissors-bill (Xúc cá, Rynchops albicollis)

Greater painted-snipe or goudsnip 
(Nhát hoa, Rostratula benghalensis)

The greater painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) is a species of wader in the small painted-snipe family Rostratulidae.

The bird is widely distributed across Africa and southern Asia, and Southeast Asia.

The term Charadriiformes comes from New Latin, combining the Greek word kharadrios ("a bird of river valleys" or "a bird of ravines") and the Latin suffix -formes meaning "forms" or "shaped like". Therefore, Charadriiformes translates to "birds shaped like or resembling the charadrius," which is a type of plover or stone curlew historically found in dry river beds or ravines. 

The family name Rostratulidae comes from Latin roots: "Rostratula" is a diminutive of rostrata (beaked), meaning "small-beaked," referring to their shorter bills compared to true snipes, with the "-idae" suffix indicating a bird family.

Rostratula is a genus of painted-snipes in the family Rostratulidae. It contains two extant species distributed across Africa, Asia and Australia.

1/ Greater painted-snipe or goudsnip (Nhát hoa, Rostratula benghalensis)

The term Charadriiformes comes from New Latin, combining the Greek word kharadrios ("a bird of river valleys" or "a bird of ravines") and the Latin suffix -formes meaning "forms" or "shaped like". Therefore, Charadriiformes translates to "birds shaped like or resembling the charadrius," which is a type of plover or stone curlew historically found in dry river beds or ravines. 

The family name Rostratulidae comes from Latin roots: "Rostratula" is a diminutive of rostrata (beaked), meaning "small-beaked," referring to their shorter bills compared to true snipes, with the "-idae" suffix indicating a bird family.

The Rostratulidae in the order Charadriiformes, commonly known as the painted-snipes, are a family of wading birds that consists of two genera: Rostratula and Nycticryphes.

Gygis is a genus of white terns in the family Laridae.

1/ White tern or common white tern (Nhàn trắng, Gygis alba), sometimes known as the fairy tern, angel tern and white noddy
The name Gygis is from the Ancient Greek guges for a mythical bird and the specific alba is Latin for "white"

Atlantic White-Tern or common white tern (Nhàn trắng, Gygis alba), 
sometimes known as the fairy tern, angel tern and white noddy

The Atlantic white tern (Gygis alba), also known as the common white tern, is a small seabird found in the Atlantic Ocean.

Charadriiformes, Charadriidae, Charadrius: Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate; from Ancient Greek kharadrios a bird found in ravines and river valleys (kharadra, "ravine").

Laridae:from Ancient Greek laros or Latin larus, which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird.

The name Gygis is from the Ancient Greek guges for a mythical bird.
The specific alba is Latin for "white".

Sternula is a genus of small white terns in the family Laridae.
The genus name is a diminutive of Sterna, "tern".

1/ Little tern (Nhàn nhỏ, Sternula albifrons)
The specific albifrons is from Latin albus, 'white', and frons, 'forehead'.

Little tern (Nhàn nhỏ, Sternula albifrons)
The little tern (Sternula albifrons) is a seabird of the family Laridae. 

Thalasseus, the crested terns, is a genus of eight species of terns in the family Laridae.
The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek Thalassa meaning "sea".

1/ Greater crested tern (Nhàn mào, Thalasseus bergii), also called crested tern or swift tern
 The species epithet bergii commemorates Carl Heinrich Bergius, a Prussian pharmacist and botanist who collected the first specimens of this tern near Cape Town.

Greater crested tern 
(Nhàn mào, Thalasseus bergii), also called crested tern or swift tern

The greater crested tern (Thalasseus bergii), also called crested tern, swift tern, or great crested tern, is a tern in the family Laridae.
The bird is found in tropical and warm temperate coastal parts of the Old World from South Africa around the Indian Ocean to the Pacific and Australia.

Charadriiformes, Charadriidae, Charadrius: Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate; from Ancient Greek kharadrios a bird found in ravines and river valleys (kharadra, "ravine").

Laridae:from Ancient Greek laros or Latin larus, which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird.

The generic name Thalasseus is derived from the Ancient Greek Thalassa meaning "sea". The term reflects the coastal, sea-fishing habitat of these birds.

The species epithet bergii commemorates Carl Heinrich Bergius, a Prussian pharmacist and botanist who collected the first specimens of this tern near Cape Town.

Lesser crested tern (Nhàn mào nhỏ, Thalasseus bengalensis)

The lesser crested tern (Thalasseus bengalensis) is a tern in the family Laridae.
The bird breeds in subtropical coastal parts of the world mainly from the Red Sea across the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific, and Australia.
Most populations of this species are migratory. 

Charadriiformes, Charadriidae, Charadrius: Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate; from Ancient Greek kharadrios a bird found in ravines and river valleys (kharadra, "ravine").

Laridae:from Ancient Greek laros or Latin larus, which appears to have referred to a gull or other large seabird.

The generic name Thalasseus is derived from the Ancient Greek Thalassa meaning "sea". The term reflects the coastal, sea-fishing habitat of these birds.

The specific epithet bengalensis means "of Bengal", the type locality, historically referring to Bangladesh and part of Northeast India.

Onychoprion, the "brown-backed terns", is a genus of seabirds in the family Laridae. 
The genus name is from Ancient Greek onux, "claw" or "nail", and prion, "saw".

1/ Bridled tern (Nhàn lưng đen, Onychoprion anaethetus)
The specific anaethetus means "senseless, stupid".

2/ Sooty tern (Nhàn nâu, Onychoprion fuscatus), coloquially wideawake tern or just wideawake
The specific fuscatus is Latin for "dark".

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