歳時記の言葉vol.11 "ホトトギス" / The seasonal words in Japanese Haiku vol.11 "Hototogisu"

ホトトギスはカッコウの一種で、夏の季語の典型です。

ホトトギスは渡鳥ですが、この事実が知られるようになったのは、俳句の長い歴史に比べると最近のことです。東アジアで繁殖し、冬には東南アジアへ渡って行きます。また、日本には五月に訪れます。カッコウと同じように他の鳥の巣に卵を産むので、自分で巣を作ることはありません。

鳴き声は"トーキョー、トッキョ、キョカキョク"(東京特許許可局)と聞き做され、日本で最も有名な早口言葉になっています。

"Hototogisu" is a kind of bird that belongs to Cuculidae, and a model of the seasonal words in summer. 

Hototogisu is a migratory bird. It is recently that this fact came to be known from a long history of haiku. They breed in east Asia, and go over southeast Asia in winter. Besides, they visit Japan in May. The birds lay their eggs in the nest of other birds the same as the cuckoo, so they don't make their own nest. 

What the birds is singing is "tokyo tokkyo kyoka kyoku"(which means,"the Tokyo Patent Permission bureau"). It's the most famous tongue twister in Japan.