Big Bird
- This article is about the boss from Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins. For the enemy also referred to as "Big Bird", see Klepto. For the Muppet character, see List of implied characters § Big Bird.
| Big Bird | |
|---|---|
 Artwork for Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins | |
| First appearance | Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins (1992) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario-kun ("Wario-kun the superhuman") (1995) |
The Big Bird,[1] also referred to as the bird,[2][3] is the Tree Zone boss in Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins. As the name suggests, it is a large bird: the brown feathers in its artwork suggest a falcon or a similar bird-of-prey, but the Japanese name hints towards a crow.
History[edit]
Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins[edit]
In Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins, it lives in its giant nest at the top of the Tree Zone (in the Owl Course) and guards one of the six Golden Coins, which is hidden in a huge egg in his nest. The Big Bird attacks Mario by swooping at him. In order to defeat it, Mario has to jump on its head three times or hit it with six fireballs. After the Big Bird is defeated, the Golden Coin of the Tree Zone is revealed from the egg.
Its swooping behavior is somewhat similar to Hoo from Super Princess Peach.
Mario vs. Wario[edit]
The Big Bird makes a one-panel appearance in the comic Mario vs. Wario. Witch tries to hit Mario with a fire spell, but he trips and the spell ends up hitting Big Bird, burning him up.
Super Mario Kodansha manga[edit]
In the Super Mario Kodansha manga, Big Bird appears in Super Mario Land 2 - 6-tsu no Kinka 1, as the first boss encountered. Wario uses dark magic to summon five guardians to guard the Six Golden Coins (giving the sixth one to Tatanga after convincing him to join his cause). The summoned bosses are rappresented by a lit candle in Wario's summoning circle. When a candle goes out, it signifies that the corresponding boss has died.
After being carried to his nest by Heavy Zed, Mario uses his Fire form to attack, but misses every shot. Big Bird manages to hold down Mario with its tallon, but Princess Peach distracts it by showing the flattened Battle Beetle (appearing larger due to the body volume), informing the boss they have a very big ally. Surprised, Big Bird lets go of Mario and he grabs the egg in the nest and bashes it on Big Bird's head, killing it and retrieving the first Golden Coin.
In Super Mario Land 2 - 6-tsu no Kinka 3, Wario uses dark magic to resurrect his army with more magic candles, including the bosses, but despite appearing during the final chapter, most of them have no relenat role during the fight. Battle Beetle, under Bear's instructions, blows out with his flapping wings the candles, causing all of the fallen enemies to disappear, including the bosses and Bear herself.
Super Mario-kun[edit]
In Super Mario-kun, Big Bird has an obsession for shiny things, implaying that he might be a thievieng magpie: his nest is full of shining elements and they encounter it while he is polishing his egg.
In chapter 3 of volume 7, Mario tries to slap it with his bunny ears, but Big Bird flies away and tries to swoop on him and Carrot, but they follow the game guide and crouch in the corner of the arena. Big Bird then drops its feathers and they tickle Mario. Distracted the plumber is about to be hit by Big Bird's swooping attack, but Heavy Zed arrives with a Bonus Bell and Carrot rings it, obtaining a Fire Flower from the Crane game, which Mario uses to roast the Big Bird. After cracking the egg it was polishing, Mario does not find the Golden Coin, so he asks Big Bird where it stored it and the boss points to its other eggs, so Mario, Carrot, and Heavy Zed start checking them all. Big Bird is the only boss of the entire manga series to not damage Mario in any way, a part from tickling.
In chapter 10 of volume 8, Mario summons a combined monster from the Casino, by aligning various bosses' figures on the slot machine. The monster, called Buro Pako Kurosu gattai, possesses Big Bird's wings.
Big Bird is turned into a spinning top by Wario in the second bonus chapter of volume 12.
Profiles[edit]
Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten[edit]
| クロス (JP) / Big Bird (EN) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Original text (Japanese) | Translation | ||
| フライ族 | Tribe | Fly clan | |
| みえっぱり | Disposition | Ostentatious person | |
| ランド2 | Game appearances | Land 2 | |
| ランド2のボスの実力は？ ランド2で、マリオが初めて戦うボスキャラ。金貨をはじめ、光ものが大好き。ツリーゾーンの大木のてっぺんに巣を作って、マリオを待ち受けている。見かけの割に弱いぞ！[4] |
How strong are the bosses in Land 2? The first boss character Mario fights in Land 2. He loves gold coins and other shiny things. He has a nest at the top of a large tree in the Tree Zone, where he waits for Mario. He is weak in comparison to his appearance! | ||
Gallery[edit]
Sprite from Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins
Boss fight in Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins
Big Bird in a Japanese commercial for Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins
Kellogg's trading card
Names in other languages[edit]
Unless they are the only ones available, names unique to the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia are denoted as such in the "notes" column.
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | クロス Kurosu |
Cross, a portmanteau of「黒」(kuro, "black") and「烏」(karasu, "crow") | [5][6] | |
| French | Cross | Translation of the Japanese name | [7] | |
| Le grand oiseau | The big bird | Club Nintendo | [8] | |
| German | Radonkel | Likely from rabe ("raven") and dunkel ("dark") | [9][10][11][12] | |
| Italian | Uccello | Bird | [13] | |
| Uccellaccio | Bad Bird; from uccello ("bird") and the pejorative suffix -accio; shared with Bird | Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia | [14][15] | |
| Spanish | Pájaro | Bird | [16] |
References[edit]
- ^ Hamm & Rudolf GmbH, Frankfurt (1994). Super Game Boy Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 22.
- ^ August 1993. Nintendo Magazine System (AU) Issue #5. Page 54.
- ^ English Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins entry on the official Mario Portal. nintendo.co.jp (English). Retrieved August 13, 2022. (Archived December 21, 2025, 19:32:03 UTC via Wayback Machine.)
- ^ 1994. 「パーフェクト版 マリオキャラクター大事典」 (Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten). Shogakukan (Japanese). Page 76.
- ^ Itoi, Shigesato, Takashi Watanabe, Hiroyuki Jinnai (APE), Jin Kobayashi, Ryuji Osawa, and Shigeo Tanabe, editors (1992). 『スーパーマリオランド2 - 6つの金貨任天堂公式ガイドブック』. Tokyo: Shogakukan. ISBN 4-09-102413-0. Page 8.
- ^ Motoyama, Kazuki (6 July 1993). Super Mario Land 2 - 6-tsu no Kinka 1, Super Mario, vol. 18. Tokyo: Kodansha (Japanese). ISBN 4-06-319398-5. Page 7.
- ^ French version of Super Mario-Kun seventh volume. Page 44.
- ^ Smith, Mark, editor (1993). "Super Mario Land 2" in Club Nintendo, vol. 1, ed. 7. Nintendo Co., Ltd. (French). Page 28.
- ^ Kämmerer, Andreas G. (1993). "Super Mario Land 2" in Club Nintendo, vol. 5, is. 1. Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 48.
- ^ Moyes, Claude M., Andreas G. Kämmerer, and Marcus Menold, editors (1994). "Super Mario Land 2" in Der Offizielle Nintendo Super Game Boy-Spieleberater. Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 22.
- ^ Pohlmann, Susanne (1994). "Super Mario Land 2" in Club Nintendo, vol. 6, is. 1. Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 54.
- ^ Moyes, Claude M., Andreas G. Kämmerer, and Marcus Menold, editors (1994). "Super Mario Land 2" in Offizielle Game Boy Spieleberater 2. Großostheim: Nintendo of Europe GmbH (German). Page 20.
- ^ Fletcher, John, editor in chief (1993). "Super Mario Land 2" in Club Nintendo, vol. 1. Linea Gig S.p.a., Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Italian). Page 23.
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), and Marco Figini, editors (2018). "Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins" in Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia. Translated by Marco Amerighi. Milan: Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 889367436X. Page 75.
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), and Marco Figini, editors (2025). "Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins" in Super Mario Bros. Enciclopedia (2nd ed.). Translated by Alessandro Apreda. Milan: Magazzini Salani (Italian). ISBN 979-1259575760. Page 75.
- ^ Sakai, Kazuya (ambit), kikai, Akinori Sao, Junko Fukuda, Kunio Takayama, and Ko Nakahara (Shogakukan), editors (2017). "Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins" in Enciclopedia Super Mario Bros. 30ª Aniversario. Translated by Gemma Tarrés. Barcelona: Editorial Planeta, S.A. (European Spanish). ISBN 978-84-9146-223-1. Page 75.
