小鳥
ことり · kotori · JLPT N4 · noun
bird
🐦 小鳥 = small (小, ko) + bird (鳥, tori)
Tori is the everyday word for bird, and ko- is a native prefix meaning small or young, also heard in koneko (kitten) and koinu (puppy). Put together, ko + tori is literally a little bird.
小 — three small strokes around a central vertical
小 is a pictograph originally showing three tiny dots or specks, suggesting small particles or grains. Over time the dots became stylized strokes flanking a central line. The core meaning 'small' has stayed remarkably stable from oracle bone script to today.