鳥 is a richly detailed pictograph — every element of a bird's anatomy fits into one character: the beak, the eye, the wing folded against the body, the legs and tail. Classical Chinese has TWO bird characters: 鳥 depicts a long-tailed bird (think peacock, pheasant), while 隹 (zhuī) depicts a short-tailed bird (think sparrow, finch). Both still appear as radicals — for example 雀 (què, sparrow) uses 隹, while 鶴 (hè, crane) uses 鳥. The 鳥 radical appears in nearly every species name: 鶏 (jī, chicken), 鳩 (jiū, dove), 鵲 (què, magpie), 鴨 (yā, duck), 鶯 (yīng, oriole). Mainland simplified 鳥 to 鸟.

Korean reading "jo." 白鳥 (baekjo, swan), 一石二鳥 (ilseokijo, "one stone two birds" = the famous "kill two birds with one stone" idiom — borrowed into all CJK languages from Chinese), 鳥瞰 (jogam, "bird's-eye view"), 野鳥 (yajo, wild bird). The four-character idiom 일석이조 is one of the most familiar Sino-Korean expressions in everyday speech.

Mandarin niǎo, 3rd tone (simplified 鸟). 鸟巢 (niǎocháo, "bird's nest" — the popular nickname for Beijing's 2008 Olympic stadium, whose lattice steel exterior actually resembles a nest), 小鸟 (xiǎoniǎo, little bird), 鸟语花香 (niǎoyǔ-huāxiāng, "bird-language flower-fragrance" = idyllic spring scenery, a classic four-character idiom). One important caveat: in Mandarin internet slang and certain regional dialects, 鸟 can be used as a vulgar term — context matters.

Japanese on-reading チョウ (chō) — 白鳥 (hakuchō, swan), 野鳥 (yachō, wild bird), 鳥獣 (chōjū, birds and beasts). Kun-reading とり (tori) is heavily used: 鳥 (tori, bird), 小鳥 (kotori, small bird), 焼き鳥 (yakitori, grilled chicken skewers — a Japanese culinary staple). The famous Shinto shrine gateway 鳥居 (torii, literally "bird-perch") gives Japan its iconic red gates marking sacred space; the etymology is debated but likely refers to ancient bird-related ritual.

Memory aid: a complete bird in profile — beak, eye, folded wing, legs, tail. Three thousand years of stable iconography.