also: さんちょう
copper pheasant
Only with reading ヤマドリ / やまどり
A specific bird species (Syrmaticus soemmerringii) endemic to Japan. Usually written in kana.
The copper pheasant is a species endemic to Japan.
mountain bird
General term for birds that live in the mountains. Rarely used; the reading さんちょう is obsolete.
Reading 山鳥 as さんちょう is an old-fashioned usage.
Katakana spelling is common for the bird name; usually written in kana.
Kanji spelling for the copper pheasant; less common than kana forms.
Rare literary reading for 'mountain bird'; the reading さんちょう is marked as obsolete kana usage.
Hiragana spelling is also common for the bird name.
Compound of 山 (yama, 'mountain') and 鳥 (tori, 'bird'), with rendaku voicing to dori. The specific meaning 'copper pheasant' is a specialized application of the general term.