Original Text & Translation
山海經·北山經 · Shanhaijing · Classic of the Northern Mountains · Wikisource
又北二百里，曰發鳩之山，其上多柘木。有鳥焉，其狀如烏，文首、白喙、赤足，名曰精衛，其鳴自詨。是炎帝之少女，名曰女娃，女娃游于東海，溺而不返，故為精衛，常銜西山之木石，以堙于東海。
Two hundred li further north is Mount Fajiu, covered in mulberry-thorn trees. There is a bird here shaped like a crow, with a patterned head, white beak and red feet. It is called Jingwei, and it cries its own name. She was the youngest daughter of the Flame Emperor, named Nüwa. Nüwa went swimming in the Eastern Sea, drowned and never returned, and so became the Jingwei. She forever carries wood and stones from the Western Mountains in her beak to fill up the Eastern Sea.
Comparing the Books
Only one public-domain classical source has been verified for this creature so far; a cross-reference will be added in a later edition.
