74 JOURNAL, NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY OF SIAM. Vol. 1. 
It may be appropriate to make a few remarks here on the 
subject of the Siamese names for birds. In Siamese, the word for 
Bird is yn (Nok), and this is usually prefixed to the particular 
a 
species to be described—thus, ynA NAA (Nok ti t’hong, literally, 
the Goldbeater-bird, i.e., the Coppersmith or Barbet ), in much the 
same way as we say Weaver-bird or Tailor-bird. In English, 
however, these descriptive names are the exception, whereas 
in Siamese they are the rule—only a very few birds not having 
the syllable Nok prefixed to their names, such as 717 (Ka, Crow), 
ut (Reng, Vulture), etc. Domestic poultry, again, and other allied 
species, have special names of their own, as la (Kai, Fowl), with 
its derivatives la $99 (Kai-nguang, Turkey), In W1 (Kai-fa, Pheasant), 
"in (Kai-pa, Jungle Fowl), In wr (Kai-ni, literally, Field Chicken, 
a name properly applicable to the large Grey Quail) ; 1m (Ped,* Duck), 
with its derivatives {Jf af (Ped-nam, Teal), ete. ; vy (Han, Goose) ; 
and Voy (Hongs,f Swan). 
—_ . 
The term yn ntz9u (Nok krachib) is a general one applied to 
smal] birds of more or less inconspicuous plumage, and is also used, with 
descriptive affixes, to denote particular species—thus yn nT? Vu NTs sr 
( Nok krachib krasai ), t.e., the common Tailor-bird. It has also to be 
; a F 
remarked that, colloquially, the prefix § (J7),§ denoting a female of 
: a 
low rank, is often applied to a number of birds, e. g., and ( L-Aa, 
Crow); AT 3 ( I-réng, Vulture ) ; cae ( Nok 7-én, Swallow ), 
&e. It is, however, usually omitted both in polite conversation and in 
writing. 
Needless to say, Siamese names vary according to locality, as do 
popular names in most countries, and even in the same locality 
different names will often be given to the same bird—probably owing 
to want of exact knowledge of the bird itself. I have endeavoured to 
*The d of Ped is pronounced more like a t. 
+ The s of Hongs is silent. 
{ To be pronounced like the English vowel LZ. 
