calling bird (esp. a cuckoo)
Archaic poetic term for a bird that calls out, especially the cuckoo (most often the lesser cuckoo, Cuculus poliocephalus). Found in classical Japanese literature and waka poetry.
There is a poem in the Kokinshū that mentions the calling bird's cry.
The modern common name for the lesser cuckoo; 呼子鳥 is an archaic poetic synonym.
The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus); 呼子鳥 may sometimes refer to cuckoos in general, but is most strongly associated with the lesser cuckoo in classical usage.
Standard kanji spelling for this archaic bird name.
Variant kanji spelling using 喚 instead of 呼; less common.
Explicitly written out form; rare and mostly found in older texts.
From 呼ぶ (yobu, 'to call') + 子 (ko, 'child') + 鳥 (tori, 'bird'), literally 'bird that calls out'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the name reflects the bird's distinctive vocalizations.