Bird (Donkey Kong series)
| Bird | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork of a Bird from Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten | |||
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Jr. (1982) | ||
| Latest appearance | WarioWare Gold (2018) | ||
| Variant of | Nitpicker | ||
| |||
Birds[1] are flying corvid Nitpickers that make their debut in the Donkey Kong Jr. arcade game. In most versions, they sport thick beaks and flap their wings in a brisk pace while flying.
History[edit]
Donkey Kong series[edit]
Donkey Kong Jr.[edit]
Birds,[1] also referred to as Nitpickers,[2][3] make their first appearance in the Chain Scene of Donkey Kong Jr. Like the Nitpickers in the Jump Board Scene, these Birds similarly fly horizontally across the screen, descending progressively as they meet its margins. They flee off-screen after performing four such flights. Unlike those Nitpickers, they do not bombard Donkey Kong Jr. with eggs, and are designed to look more like ravens in most versions, given their dark coloration and chubby structure. They can be defeated the same way nonetheless, as falling fruit can put an end to them.
In the Atari 2600 port, a single bird flies left to right at the bottom of the stage. In the Intellivision port, they fly off the left or right side of the screen rather than doing their zigzag routine.
Donkey Kong Jr. Math[edit]
A lone Bird (known as a "nitpicker")[4] appears in the +-×÷ Exercise mode of Donkey Kong Jr. Math. It hovers over the chains, showing which position Donkey Kong Jr. should fill. It will also show where Donkey Kong Jr. made his mistakes.
Donkey Kong (Game Boy)[edit]
A Bird Nest can be seen in the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong, in Stage 9-4 of the Tower, a boss stage that resembles the Chain Scene from Donkey Kong Jr. It spawns two Birds on-screen at a time. After rising slowly from their nest, Birds fly horizontally across the room, moving down a short distance and turning back upon meeting the room's limits. They perform three complete flights, and flee outside the map of the stage afterwards. Birds can not be practically defeated, as the stage they appear in presents no means of combat against them. They now attempt to drop eggs on Mario if they fly above him. Unless they are avoided, or deflected with a handstand, these eggs can plummet down on the character and cause him to lose a life.
Birds are identical in behavior to Hawks and Kaibādo, which are other successors of Nitpickers.
WarioWare Gold[edit]
Birds are obstacles in the Donkey Kong Jr. microgame of WarioWare Gold. They appear on the third difficulty level, flying on a straight line from left to right, across the ropes.
Other appearances[edit]
In the Family BASIC accessory to the Family Computer, it is one of three programmable bird characters. It also makes a cameo on the Message Board.
Profiles and statistics[edit]
Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten[edit]
| クロ (JP) / Bird (EN) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Original text (Japanese) | Translation | ||
| フライ |
Tribe | Fly clan | |
| いじわる | Disposition | Ill-tempered | |
| Game appearances | GB Donkey | ||
| いじわるカラスだ！ |
You nasty crows! Get out of here! A very annoying crow monster that drops its eggs at regular intervals. You can't touch it from above or to the side, and you can't hit it with anything, so just run away from it. | ||
Gallery[edit]
Donkey Kong Jr. Math artwork
Sprite of a Bird
A Bird, as illustrated in volume 30 of the Kodansha manga
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ニットピッカー[6] Nittopikkā |
Nitpicker | |
| トリさん[6] Tori-san |
Bird-san | ||
| クロ[5][7] Kuro |
From「黒」(kuro, black), after their Game Boy coloration; also a play on the English word "crow" | ||
| French | Oiseau[8] | Bird | |
| Rapace[9] | Raptor | ||
| German | Vogel[8] | Bird | |
| Geier[10] | Vulture | ||
| Italian | Uccellaccio[8] | Bad bird; shared with Big Bird | |
| Uccello[11] | Bird | ||
| Spanish | Pájaro[8] | Bird |
References[edit]
- ^ a b Instruction manual for Atari 8-bit port[page number needed]
- ^ Instruction manuals for Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Intellivision, and Coleco Adam ports[page number needed]
- ^ Instruction manual for Atari 7800 port[page number needed]
- ^ 1985. Donkey Kong Jr. Math instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 9-10.
- ^ a b 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 75.
- ^ a b Family BASIC handbook.
- ^ Kazuki, Motoyama. Volume 30 of the KC Deluxe manga. Page 51.
- ^ a b c d Donkey Kong Junior Atari computer version manual (International)
- ^ French ColecoVision manual[page number needed]
- ^ German ColecoVision manual[page number needed]
- ^ Donkey Kong Jr. Italian booklet[page number needed]
| Donkey Kong Jr. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characters | Donkey Kong Jr. • Donkey Kong • Mario | |
| Enemies | Bird • Drop* • Egg • Nitpicker • Snapjaw • Spark | |
| Items | Fruit • Key | |
| Objects | Chain • Jump Board • Pole | |
| Rounds | Vine Scene • Jump Board Scene • Mario's Hideout • Chain Scene | |
| Other | Gallery • Media • Pre-release and unused content • Staff | |
