Sǒngsī
The human-faced pheasant-like bird of Mount Guanti in the Shan Hai Jing: it leaps upon seeing people and calls its own name.《山海经》记载灌题山异禽竦斯：其状如雌雉而人面，见人则跃，其鸣自呼。
Head头首
Human face on bird生有端严容貌
人面
Body身形
Like a female pheasant通体生覆羽翼
其狀如雌雉
Legs足爪
Leaps upon seeing men逢客昂然凌空
見人則躍
Voice鸣声
Calls its own name啼唤本身名号
其鳴自呼也
有鳥焉，其名曰竦斯There is a bird here; its name is Songsi.
山海經·北山經
Highlighted words: anatomy part · feature · form type — tap to jump标色词：形态部位 · 特征 · 形态类别，点击可跳转
The texts原文
The Shan Hai Jing records Songsi as an extraordinary human-faced avian of Mount Guanti distinguished by its excited jumping response to human travellers.
The story来历与故事
The human-faced pheasant-like bird of Mount Guanti in the Shan Hai Jing: bearing a human countenance, it leaps upon seeing people and calls its own name.
Songsi is a human-faced leaping bird dwelling on Mount Guanti.《北山经》记载灌题之山多樗柘流沙，其中有鸟名曰竦斯。
In the Classic of the Northern Mountains, Songsi inhabits Mount Guanti, three hundred and twenty li north of Mount Danzhang.
The mountain slopes abound with tallow trees, shifting sands, and magnetic lodestones, harboring this unique leaping avian.
It has a human face, leaps when seeing people, and calls its name.经文记其状如雌雉而人面，见人则跃，其鸣自呼也。
The Shan Hai Jing specifies that Songsi resembles a female pheasant in body and plumage, yet possesses a human face with attentive eyes.
When encountering human travelers it bounds and hops into the air ('jian ren ze yue'), chanting its own name in resonant cries.
Woodblock prints illustrate it poised mid-leap with spread feathers.《古今图书集成》画其为一头人面长尾、凌空振羽雀跃的神鸟。
The 1726 imperial encyclopedia Gujin Tushu Jicheng illustrates Songsi poised mid-stride with one claw lifted as if startled into a dance.
The woodblock engraving depicts its intricate scalloped feathering, alert human-like visage, and sharp grasping spurs.
Record档案
| Type | Divine Bird (human-faced leaping pheasant of Mount Guanti) |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Sǒngsī 竦斯; Songsi Bird (竦斯之鳥) |
| Habitat | Mount Guanti (灌題之山) in the Northern Mountains, rich in magnetic lodestones and drifting sands |
| Behavior | Excitedly leaps and flutters when seeing humans (見人則躍) |
| Earliest source | 山海經·北山經 |
| Source books | 山海經·北山經 |
| Image source | Chen Menglei 陳夢雷 (ed.) · Wikimedia Commons |
| License | Public domain |
The classic describes it as a bird resembling a female pheasant with a human face ('shaped like a female pheasant with a human face').
Ancient commentators note that upon sighting humans, Songsi hops and flutters in an alert or startled dance ('upon seeing humans it leaps').
The classic records that its cry calls its own name ('its cry calls itself'), producing syllables sounding like 'song-si'.
One more?再看一只？
Draw another creature随机抽一只怪
