鸟 Niǎo 鸟 | Bird

鸟 is a character that illustrates the richness of the pictographic writing system. There were varying forms of this character on both oracle bone and bronze vessels depicting different birds and their actions.

“乌鸦反哺” (wūyā fǎnbǔ) translates to: "The crow returns to feed its paretnts." This idiom is a story about loyalty to your family. It references the charactersitics of how crows do not chase their young away from the nest. Instead, young crows will stay with the parents and even help feed incubating females, nestlings and fledglings. “乌鸦反哺” tells us that filial loyalty and respect for one's parents is an important part of being human, and even some animals can recognize its importance.

鸟 is used as a radical in many Chinese words, especially those words related to birds. Many words use 鸟 on the right: 鸡 (chicken), 鸭 (duck), 鸣 (sound). Some words use 鸟 on the bottom: 鸯 (mandarin duck), 鹰 (eagle), 莺 (warbler). And a few on the top: 凫 (mallard).

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