About
The character 鹂 is a phono-semantic compound with the bird radical 鸟 on the right, indicating its meaning relates to birds. The component 丽 on the left provides the pronunciation. This simplifies the traditional character 鸝, which used the more complex phonetic 麗 and the bird radical 鳥. Etymologically, 鹂 specifically refers to the oriole, a brightly colored, songbird often celebrated in classical poetry for its yellow plumage and melodious call. Its meaning is confined to this zoological sense, most commonly appearing in the term for the yellow oriole, and it carries no abstract or secondary meanings.