候鸟

候鳥
hòuniǎo
noun #36,217

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 migratory bird

Examples

Qiūtiān dào le, hòuniǎo kāishǐ xiàng nán fēi.
Autumn has arrived, and the migratory birds are starting to fly south.
Zhè piàn shīdì shì hòuniǎo de zhòngyào qīxīdì.
This wetland is an important habitat for migratory birds.

Tips

memory
here means 'season' (as in 气候 'climate' or 时候 'time/season'), not 'to wait'. So 候鸟 = 'season bird' — a bird that follows the seasons. The opposite is (liúniǎo, 'stay bird'), a year-round resident species.
culture
Migratory birds are loaded with meaning in Chinese poetry — wild geese (大雁) returning south signal autumn loneliness; swallows (燕子) coming back mark spring's arrival. The phrase 候鸟 ('migratory-bird-style') is also a modern term for snowbird retirees who winter in Hainan.

Stroke Order

hòu
niǎo