The purpose of the study is to identify the national-specific features of the symbolism and meaning of bird names in Russian and Chinese cultures. The paper presents general, various and additional meanings in relation to such bird naming units as cuckoo, crane, nightingale, magpie, crow, peacock/peahen, owl, falcon, parrot, swan, lark, phoenix, swallow, sparrow. Scientific novelty lies in identifying the national and cultural reasons for the differences in bird symbolism and bird naming that include geographical, philosophical and religious factors; customs and traditions of the population; social stereotypy and perception subjectivity. As a result of the study, the researcher has discovered features peculiar to the nominative representations of the lexico-semantic group “Birds” in the Russian and Chinese linguistic worldview.