noun
Formal or literary term for the lesser cuckoo (Cuculus poliocephalus). In everyday language, ホトトギス is more common.
See also: ホトトギス
子規は夏の訪れを告げる鳥として詩歌に詠まれる。
The lesser cuckoo is celebrated in poetry as a bird that announces the arrival of summer.
ホトトギス is the common name for the lesser cuckoo in modern Japanese, while 子規 is a formal or literary synonym.
The kanji 子規 literally means 'child rule' or 'child standard', but the exact derivation of this spelling for the lesser cuckoo is uncertain; it is a conventional literary name for the bird.