noun
nightingale; common nightingale
Refers specifically to the common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos). Often written in katakana as サヨナキドリ. Compare with ナイチンゲール, which is the more common loanword for 'nightingale' in modern Japanese.
See also: ナイチンゲール
サヨナキドリのさえずりが夜の森に響いていた。
The song of the nightingale echoed through the forest at night.
Literary kanji spelling; the word is usually written in kana.
Alternate kanji spelling; less common than 小夜啼鳥.
Katakana spelling is common for this bird name; usually written in kana.
ナイチンゲール is the common modern loanword for 'nightingale', while サヨナキドリ is a native Japanese term that is more literary or poetic.
Compound of 小夜 (sayo, 'evening; night') + 鳴き (naki, 'singing') + 鳥 (tori, 'bird'), literally 'bird that sings at night'. The kanji 啼 is an alternative character for 'to sing' used in bird names.