I did some digging and while the translated names universally focus on the leafy eyebrows, the category names in other languages much more explicitly reference chickens rather than the generic term “chick.” “Polloporoto” and “Pollito Haba” in Spanish depending on the region, “Pollegume” in Italian, and “Poussin Pois” (literally “chick pea”) in French. I also enjoyed “Bohnenküken” in German.
It seems that the original Japanese category name “Mame Hiyoko” also literally translates to “Bean Chick,” but with the added context that chick-shaped pastries filled with sweet bean paste are apparently a common treat in some parts of Japan. So this little guy appears to be a reference that flew over most of our heads. Now whether it will stay a chicken as it evolves, I have no idea. Even just in the world of existing starters, we’ve had a duckling starter become a weird peacock-waterfowl-man hybrid and a previous baby chicken that became a raptor-chicken-man, not to mention all the different kinds of regional birds transform into different species over the years
https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/hiyoko 
