Bio-inspired flapping wing micro air vehicles have excellent aerodynamic performance and flexible flight ability. They have been widely used in both military and civilian markets. Research teams at home and abroad have made significant progress in developing principle prototypes, flapping wing aerodynamics, driving mechanisms, flight control, and other fields. This paper reviews the development and research progress of the bird-like flapping wing MAVs from the conceptual design methods, driving mechanism design and optimization, and aerodynamics. Firstly, starting from the conceptual design method of the flapping wing, the bionic configuration of bird-like flapping wing aircraft has been summarized, and the overall design parameter estimation method has been outlined. Secondly, the application, advantages, and disadvantages of various configuration crank-link mechanisms in flapping wing drives have been reviewed. Then, the flapping wing aerodynamic experimental methods and numerical calculation methods are summarized, and the advantages and disadvantages of different flapping wing aerodynamic algorithms in terms of calculation cost and accuracy for different application scenarios have been analyzed. Finally, the design and research status of the bird-like ornithopter system is summarized, and the prospect of the prototype development process has been put forward.