What is "qingniao"

The Qingniao were Blue or Green Birds which appear in Chinese mythology, popular stories, poetry, and religion (the Chinese is somewhat ambiguous in regard to English color vocabulary, and the word qing may and has been translated as "blue" or "green", or even "black"). Qingniao are especially regarded as the messengers or as otherwise serving the Queen Mother of the West Xi Wangmu. In some sources, three-legged Qingniao carry her messages; in other sources, a single one-legged Qingniao fetched her food. In some versions, three, sometimes three-legged, green birds brought her food: these seem to have some similarity with the Three-footed birds believed to reside in the sun. (Sometimes these birds are called "crows".) The Qingniao are an important motif and frequently depicted in myths regarding Xi Wangmu and her Western Paradise, which is generally located on the mythical Kunlun Mountain.