無む常じょう鳥ちょう

noun

lesser cuckoo

Rare literary name for the lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus), a bird associated with melancholy and transience in classical Japanese poetry. The common modern name is ホトトギス.

See also: ホトトギス

• 無む常じょう鳥ちょうは、古ふるい和わ歌かでよく詠よまれる鳥とりだ。

  The mujōchō is a bird often composed about in old waka poetry.