I based this design on a thumbnail sketch, but it morphed the more I worked on it. The extended wings were removed and the wings tucked in on the side to balance the black.

 

 

Here are the circles used to establish the major curves. Some of the smaller curves I did by eye.

I removed the leg.

I think my bird still needs a bit of refining though. It started out as a generic bird, but now it's starting to look like a nesting chicken, so I may take it in that direction. Watch this space.

 

Update

I have started to rework the bird now that it's going to be a chicken. It's still a work in progress. It's getting easier to use the same circles, although for some of the smaller curves I'm still doing things by eye.