bird, chicken
鳥 centers on birds as animals; chicken is a specific bird-related application rather than a separate abstract idea.
鳥 is a pictograph of a bird, with the modern form preserving a stylized body, head, and tail/feather shape.
The top suggests the bird's head, the boxed middle its body, and the lower strokes its tail feathers. Put together, 鳥 is a bird.
For チョウ, picture a 蝶々 (ちょうちょう, butterfly) flying beside the bird: the first チョウ of ちょうちょう cues the bird reading チョウ.
bird
Tottori (city, prefecture)
flying bird
small bird; little bird
yakitori; chicken pieces (or sometimes beef or pork offal) grilled on a skewer
swan (Cygnus spp.)
torii (Shinto shrine archway)
plover
killing two birds with one stone
goosebumps; gooseflesh; goose pimples
wild bird
ostrich (Struthio camelus)
birds
birds and wild animals; wildlife
phoenix
migratory bird; bird of passage
turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)
shrike (any bird of family Laniidae)
domestic goose
flowers and birds