セグロアジサシ

also: せぐろあじさし

Meanings

1

noun

sooty tern

usually written using kana alone

A seabird species (Onychoprion fuscatus). The name is usually written in katakana.

セグロアジサシは熱ねっ帯たいの島しまで繁はん殖しょくする。
Sooty terns breed on tropical islands.

背せ+黒くろ+アジサシ

Written forms

せぐろあじさし
Hiragana spelling, also common for this bird name.
背せ黒ぐろ鰺あじ刺さし
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.

Etymology

The name セグロアジサシ literally means 'black-backed tern', from 背 (se, 'back'), 黒 (kuro, 'black'), and 鰺刺 (ajisashi, 'tern'). The exact derivation is uncertain, but it is a descriptive compound.