also: めいちょう
noun
songbird; bird with a beautiful song
Refers to birds known for their singing, such as nightingales or canaries. Often used in poetic or descriptive contexts.
春になると、鳴き鳥のさえずりが聞こえる。
In spring, you can hear the chirping of songbirds.
彼は鳴き鳥の飼育が趣味だ。
His hobby is keeping songbirds.
Sino-Japanese reading; less common in everyday use.
Compound of 鳴き (naki, 'singing', from 鳴く naku 'to sing (of birds)') + 鳥 (tori, 'bird'), with rendaku voicing tori → dori. The reading めいちょう is the Sino-Japanese on'yomi of the same characters.