Monday, March 2, 2009

春告鳥(haru tsuge dori): Spring-annuncing bird

When do you feel that spring has come?
It is fine and warm today like when spring has come. This morning I heard uguisu (鶯), Japanese Bush Warbler were singing. Uguisu has many names. They are haru dori(春鳥): spring bird, haru tsuge dori (春告鳥): spring-announcing bird, hana mi dori(花見鳥): spring-flower-viewing bird, uta yomi dori(歌詠鳥): poem-reading bird, kyo yomi dori(経読鳥): sutra-reading bird and so on.
Its call is heard as "ホーホケキョ(ho-hokekyo)" which is a phrase from the lotus sutra. It is so beautiful. Only the male birds sing like that.
Uguisu is one of three Japanese singing birds(日本三鳴鳥:nihon san mei cho) Other two are koma dori(コマドリ),Japanese robin and ooruri (オオルリ), Blue-and-White Flycatcher .
Uguisu has a very beautiful voice, therefore a female announcer at Japanese baseball games and a woman employed to make public announcements for politicians' election campaign are called uguisu jo(ウグイス嬢), Miss Uguisu.

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