Hai Collection, Middle Volume Radical: Bird (niǎo) Kangxi Strokes: 23 Page 1500, Entry 20 Pronounced jiao. Shuowen Jiezi (Explanation of Simple and Compound Characters): The jiao is the peach insect (tao chong). It is also called the jiao liao. It is commonly known as the yellow-necked sparrow, and its beak is as sharp as an awl. Erya (Approaching Elegance), Interpretation of Birds: The peach insect is the jiao, and the female is called ai. Commentary: This jiao is a small bird, yet it is capable of producing large birds such as the eagle and the osprey. Book of Odes (Shijing), Odes of Zhou: One begins to believe that the tiny peach insect, through determined flight, can transform into a large bird. Lu Ji Commentary: This is the modern jiao liao. It is smaller than a yellow sparrow, and its hatchlings can transform into eagles; thus, the common folk say that the jiao liao gives birth to eagles. Yangzi Fangyan (Regional Dialects): East of Hangu Pass, it is called the clever sparrow or the female artisan. West of Hangu Pass, it is called the sock sparrow or the clever maiden. In the Jiangdong region, it is called the peach insect. Shuoyuan (Garden of Stories): The jiao liao builds its nest on the reeds of a flowering rush, binding it with human hair, utilizing the catkins of miscanthus to form the nest, and stitching it together with hemp thread, much like weaving a sock. Note: Jiao liao and jiao liao are both phonetic variations. It is a small bird skilled at building nests. Also, Guangyun (Broad Rhymes): Jiao is a divine bird of the south. Leiye Tuzheng (Charts and Portents of Music): The jiao ming resembles a phoenix. It is also written in a variant form (jiao). Yangzi Fayan (Model Sayings): The jiao ming fly in flocks to roost.