Hai Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Bird (niǎo) Dan Kangxi Stroke Count: 16 Page 1486, Entry 12 Pronounced dan (falling tone). Dan is a bird. Zengyun says: Dan is a bird that seeks the dawn. It resembles a chicken and calls continuously day and night. Fangyan by Yang Xiong says: In the regions of Zhou, Wei, Qi, and Song, it is called duchun; from the pass eastward, it is called chengdan; within the Qin and Long regions, it is called hedan. Book of Rites (Liji): In the second month of winter, the hedan does not cry. Also, according to Jiyun, it is pronounced dan (falling tone), with the same meaning. Note: The name hedan is derived from the sound it makes seeking the dawn; it was originally written as hedan. The Fangji chapter of the Book of Rites quotes the Book of Odes (Shijing): Look at that hedan, still it worries. It is sometimes written as hedan. The Monthly Ordinances (Yueling) writes it as hedan, the Guangzhi writes it as kandan, the Fangyan writes it as hedan, and it is also written as baidan, dan, or kedan.