Heavy Zed

Heavy Zed
First appearance	Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992)

Heavy Zeds, also referred to as simply Owls, are birds that appear in the Tree Zone of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. They are large owls that are usually seen asleep, with their name being a play on the phrase "heavy sleeper" and "zed"; "zed" is the British English pronunciation of the letter Z, which is commonly used to denote snoring.

Heavy Zeds are not hostile, and their heads can be used as platforms. When Mario approaches a Heavy Zed, it wakes up, and he can then stand on top of it to be flown to a higher area. A similar role is served by other owls in later games, such as Hoot from Super Mario 64 and the owls from Wario Land II and Wario Land 3.

Official profiles

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

• Virtual Console Manual: "This isn't really an enemy; it's a sleeping owl. If Mario climbs onto this owl's head, it'll wake up and give Mario a ride. Heavy Zed has other friends that will give Mario a ride, too."

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	グー Gū	From 「ぐうぐう」gūgū, an onomatopoeia for a snoring sound
Spanish	Heavy Zed	-
French	Zed l'Assoupi	The Dozing Zed
German	Müder Zed	Tired Zed
Italian	Ciccio Zed	Heavy Zed