small pratincole; little pratincole; small Indian pratincole
A bird species (Glareola lactea) found in South and Southeast Asia. In Japanese, the name is usually written in katakana as ヒメツバメチドリ.
The small pratincole is a bird found in India and Southeast Asia.
Katakana spelling is common for bird names; usually written in kana.
Kanji spelling is rare and mainly found in older or specialized texts.
Compound of 姫 (hime, 'princess; small') + 燕 (tsubame, 'swallow') + 千鳥 (chidori, 'plover'), referring to a small swallow-like plover. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.