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is a fictional, anthropomorphic dinosaur-like creature featured in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. While Nintendo has never made the exact nature of Birdo clear, she appears to be both a particular character and a species of character, just as Yoshi from Super Mario World can refer either to a class of video game dinosaurs or a particular one. Birdo first appeared in the Japanese game Doki Doki Panic as a minor boss appearing at the end of many of the levels. Doki Doki Panic was later remade into Super Mario Bros. 2 for release in North America.
Appearance
Birdo is most frequently depicted as pink, though red, green, blue, yellow, orange, and gray Birdos are also seen in Super Mario Bros. 2 and other games (though gray Birdos, due to having the same form of attacking as greens, are changed to green in remakes). In Super Mario Bros. 2, Birdo would spit out eggs and/or fireballs from her tubular snout. After defeating Birdo by hitting it with the eggs or other nearby objects, Birdo would drop a crystal ball that would allow the player to open up the gate to the next level. Although it would appear that the crystal ball drops out of Birdo's stomach, promotional art for Super Mario Bros 2 and Doki Doki Panic show that Birdo is actually clutching the object in its hands. This would later change in the Super Mario Bros. 2 remake on Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance, in which Birdo spits the crystal out of its mouth after being defeated. On one occasion (specifically, the final level of Super Mario Bros. 2, World 7-2), Birdo actually drops a key which the player must use to open a locked door to finish the particular level.
In some levels, Birdo can also be helpful: In World 4-3 of Super Mario Bros. 2, for example, Mario can jump onto an egg and ride it over an extra-wide chasm, much as he can on an Albatoss in other levels. Birdo isn't carrying anything in this level.
In later games like Mario Tennis and others, Birdo's personal icon is her bow, much as Mario's is the red "M" logo from his hat. Though Nintendo's official drawings of Birdo have always depicted her as wearing a bow, the bow did not show on her head in games until Super Mario All-Stars, a Super NES title that included a remake of Super Mario Bros. 2. In Super Mario Advance, Birdo's bow can actually be picked up off her head and thrown away, though if it hits Birdo, it will simply reappear on her head. Super Mario Advance also features a new boss character in the form of Robirdo, a giant, robotic Birdo.
It's interesting to note that as of Toadstool Tour, the individual Birdo character now wears a ring. This is merely a design change to further distinguish her from the Birdo species.
Gender and name confusion
Although later Nintendo mythology classifies Birdo as female, the US first edition game manual describes Birdo as follows: "He thinks he is a girl and he spits eggs from his mouth. He'd rather be called 'Birdetta.'" Subsequent editions of the game manual cut the 'Birdetta' sentence but retained the first sentence. This ambiguity does not exist in Japan, since Birdo is known there as "Catherine" and purportedly enjoys being called "Cathy". Nintendo has retconned the gender confusion out of the offical Mario game universe, and now classifies Birdo as female.
Confusion has also arisen over Birdo because the names for Birdo and Ostro, an ostrich that playable characters can ride, were erroneously switched in the Super Mario Bros. 2 end credits as well as in the game manual. Since then, many have confused the two to the point of calling the actual species "Ostro," and believing that the 'main pink one' was individually named "Birdo." Super Mario Advance, a game which contains a remake of Super Mario Bros. 2, does not repeat this mistake.
Robirdo
Robirdo is a boss in Super Mario Advance. It is a giant, robotic version of Birdo. The fight against Robirdo replaced a Mouser battle that was in Super Mario Bros. 2.
Robirdo jumps, shaking the ground and stunning Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, or Toad if they are on the ground. Then, it runs forward. Another attack is spitting two giant eggs. All three of these attacks can be evaded by climbing the chains that hang down in the room.
Robirdo can be defeated by throwing eggs back at it.
Games
Super Mario Bros. 2 and the various remakes of that game are the only Mario platformers where Birdo has appeared.
Mario RPGs
Although never appearing in either Paper Mario game, Birdo has appeared in Legend of the Seven Stars and Superstar Saga. In the former game, Birdo was a minor boss character that appeared in the castle of Nimbus Land. Birdo's egg must be cracked and broken before Birdo actually appears. In the latter game, it is revealed that she was magically disguised as Princess Peach when the Mushroom Kingdom got word that there was going to be another kidnapping attempt on her; when Cackletta and Fawful steal Peach's voice, they really steal Birdo's. She appears when the deception is revealed, and later becomes enamored with _Superstar_Saga#Major non-playable characters the thief (or she could be teasing him), joining him for his last battle against Mario and Luigi.
Mario Kart and sports
Birdo, as the character, has appeared in several Mario sports titles, and is often paired with Yoshi.
Nintendo had left Birdo out of most Mario titles before the Nintendo 64 installment of Mario Tennis, where she made her first-ever appearance as a controllable character. She was added to Mario Tennis because Yoshi was in need of a doubles tennis partner. Since then, Birdo appeared as a playable character in several Mario sports titles, Toadstool Tour, Double Dash!!, and as a sub-captain in Mario Superstar Baseball.
As a race, Birdos appeared in the stands of Mario Power Tennis, as opposed to a playable character like its predecessor. In Super Mario Strikers, the Birdos are both a generic color-swap character that the player can use and spectators of the games.
Mario Party
Mario Party 7 is Birdo's first appearance as a playable character in the Mario Party series. This title features mini-games that involve eight characters. Birdo was probably added as a default partner for Yoshi, as she has the same character-unique capsule as Yoshi (the Egg capsule). To unlock Birdo, get 1,000 millege points, then buy her at the Duty-Free Shop.
Other games
In Wario's Woods for the NES and SNES, Birdo appears in the tutorial. Birdo also makes an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee as part of the Mushroom Kingdom II stage, but is not a playable character. Instead, she appears from either side of the screen and shoots eggs at combatants and can be attacked and defeated by players. She also appears as a collectible trophy in that game (When this trophy is obtained, it unlocks Mushroom Kingdom II.). Birdo also makes a cameo in one of the backgrounds of the Super NES title Kirby Super Star, alongside Mario, Luigi, and Toad. This is unusual in that Birdo had not joined the ranks of Mario regulars at this point.
Non-game appearances
Birdo was never a prevalent character, so appearances outside of the games are minor. Birdos have appeared in a few episodes of the Super Mario Bros. Super Show, but only one episode had talking Birdos: a mother and child. Birdo did not appear in any of the later Mario cartoons, and was seldom seen in the comic books, but in one of the comics, it is mentioned that Bowser buys Baroness Blue Blood comic books for the purpose of "lining his birdo cages".
HORSE the band made a song about Birdo on their album, The Mechanical Hand.
Voice artists
In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, she was voiced by Jeannie Elias. In Mario Tennis, she was voiced by Jessica Chisum. In Mario Golf: Toadstool tour, she was voiced by Issac Marshall. In Toadstool Tour and all later games, she only says "Birdo", in a way similar to how Yoshi only says "Yoshi" (or at least a series of quacks or honks, likely due to the shape of her snout and lack of a tongue).
In Super Mario Bros. 2, whenever Birdo spits out an egg/fireball, it makes a "WOOP!" sound. This sound is also used for when any boss character (save Wart) throws or spits something at Mario.
Language
Birdo language is extremely vague, and very little is known about it. Subtitles in Toadstool Tour seem to hint that the more low-pitched the sound, the happier it is (Compliments are all low-pitched and taunts are all high-pitched); however, in Mario Kart: Double Dash, her honks are all low pitched with the exception of her winning phrases. In Super Mario Strikers, all of her honks are high pitched, making Birdo's language very strange indeed. In Mario Tennis for the N64, Birdo spoke English, and had a very high-pitched voice.
Voice
Birdo sounds like a human being in Super Mario Bros. 2, but in later games featuring Birdo, her voice is different, like a space ship. It is hard to understand in the later Super Mario series of games.
References
External links
Fictional dinosaurs | Yoshi characters | Fictional racecar drivers
"Birdo"