Mythical Bird - Burmese: ကရဝိတ္ (Karaweik), Pali: Karavika, Sanskrit: Kalavinka, Japanese: 迦陵頻伽 (かりょうびんが), Korean: 가릉빈가, Chinese: 妙声鸟

So, what exactly is the mythical bird ကရဝိတ္ (Karaweik) like? Mentioned in Buddhist scriptures as a sacred being existing in heavenly abode, it is believed to display stunning beauty and possess hypnotic melodious vocal qualities.

For Chinese readers and others who understand the language...
If you can read Chinese and your computer support Chinese fonts, here is a brief Chinese description on the high status Burmese give to the sacred bird 妙声鸟 (Chinese for ကရဝိတ္):

"妙声鸟是缅甸传说故事中的一种神鸟。据说这种鸟栖息在喜马拉雅山山林之中，形如布谷鸟，因啼声优美动听得名。传说，当妙声鸟啼鸣时，鱼儿不再游动，鸟儿不再飞翔，老虎不再追捕小鹿，世上一切动物都停止活动。静听妙声鸟美妙的叫声。缅甸人认为妙声鸟的叫声犹如佛祖释迦牟尼的诵经声，令万物倾倒、陶醉。所以，自古以来，缅甸人崇拜妙声鸟，在许多物品上画有妙声鸟的图像，很多商店和艺术部门喜欢以妙声鸟命名。前些年，缅甸政府还耗巨资在仰光市大湖内仿神话中妙声鸟的形象。建造了一座雄伟壮丽的妙声鸟餐厅，在那里举行重大的国宴和文艺演出。"

There is also another interesting Chinese article that related Tibet and Myanmar with respect to cultural commonalities, suggesting possible links between 妙声鸟 (Karaweik) and Tibet's 迎鸟节 (Welcoming the 'Spring-heralding Cuckoo' Festival):

"藏语与缅语的33个字母的读音相同。缅族认为他们是从景颇族浪莪（峨）支中分支演变而来。缅族十分崇敬‘妙声鸟’，在缅甸的古文献中，说它是栖息在喜马拉雅山山林中的神鸟，形同杜鹃（布谷鸟），因啼声优美，犹如佛的诵经声，能令万物倾倒，故曰‘妙声鸟’。我在仰光大金塔和曼德勒大佛寺，曾见过不少以‘妙声鸟’造型的吉祥物，其样子就是布谷鸟。最近我拜读了甘肃民族出版社出版的《雪域气息的节日文化》，其中讲‘迎鸟节’的内容引起我的关注：西藏人自古就把布谷鸟视为报春鸟、吉祥鸟、幸福鸟，并对它始终充满着浓烈的青睐、敬仰与崇拜之情。藏历还推定三月十五日是布谷鸟从喜马拉雅山南边的门达旺返回西藏的吉日。这一天，西藏农区的家家户户在大清早就带上香草茶点等供品，去附近的树林里举行欢迎布谷鸟莅临的仪式。西藏的地方政府也很重视‘迎鸟节’，每年都派僧官出迎，并举行隆重庄严的迎布谷鸟仪式。这种仪式是远古流传下来的遗风，是藏人自然崇拜的表现。我以为这是藏缅文化同源的又一个新证据。"

For Japanese readers and others who understand the language...
If you can read Japanese and your computer support Japanese fonts, this end-note of an online Japanese Buddhist text mentioned the "Karyoubinga" (Japanese for ကရဝိတ္):
"かりょうびんが〔迦陵頻伽〕､ 梵語カラヴィンカ (kalavinka) の音写｡ 好声・妙声・美声・妙みょう音おん鳥ちょうなどと漢訳する｡ 殻のなかにいる時､ すでによく鳴き､ 極めて美しい声を出すという｡"

Burmese Buddhists may also like to read a compilation from Mahapadana Sutta (大本经) and Lakkhana Sutta (三十二相经) of the Digha Nikaya as well as from the Brahmayu Sutta (梵摩经) of the Majjhima Nikaya. These suttas mentioned the "Karavika" (Pali for ကရဝိတ္) as voice quality in the 28th (out of total 32) major marks of a Great Man (Bodhisatta).

Those who read Tibetan Buddhist sutras may have come across Arya Sanghata Sutra Dharma-paryaya which mentioned the "Kalavinka" (Sanskrit for ကရဝိတ္):

"Then the Blessed One, the Tathágata whose voice is delightful like the sound of a kalavinka sparrow, displayed a smile. At that, the bodhisattva, the great being Bhaishajya-séna arose from his seat, bowed down towards the Blessed One with palms joined and said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, 84,000 light rays have come forth from your face, and this galaxy of a billion world systems and everything in it is suffused with these light rays. All thirty-two great hells are suffused with them, too."

Interesting modern ornithological comparisons have been made.


One suggested relative of the bird is a Spotted Weaver referred as 'kalavinka sparrow' (see picture above photographed by Dr Satish A. Pande, an interventional radiologist and the founder of ELA Foundation in India).


Roberts (of Oklahoma Ornithological Society?) suggested that 'kalavinka' is a 'Strawberry Finch', also known as 'Red Munia' Amandava amandava (see picture on the left, photographed by Vonda of FinchAviary.com).


Sample calls of the Strawberry Finch (recorded by Vonda of FinchAviary.com):
Male: http://finchaviary.com/Sounds/Birds/StrawberrySong.wav
Female: http://finchaviary.com/Sounds/Birds/FemaleStrawberry.wav (sad mourning for the loss of her life partner)

For my Burmese friends...
妙 (pronounced as "miao") = "wondrous"
声 (pronounced as "sheng") = "sound"
鸟 (pronounced as "niao") = "bird"

Thus, 妙声鸟 = "bird with wondrous melodious calls" :)