Birdo (species)

Birdos are brightly-colored, large-snouted creatures from the Super Mario series. In Super Mario Bros. 2, one pink Birdo rose to prominence above the others; she is named after her species, and is later developed into a major character in numerous spin-offs. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! is the first source in which other Birdos appear. Other Birdos later appear as spectators in various Mario titles, starting in Mario Power Tennis, and make playable appearances in Super Mario Strikers and Mario Strikers Charged.

Birdos have the ability to shoot eggs and fireballs out of their mouth. They are sometimes associated with Yoshis because both species use eggs as projectiles.

Super Mario Bros. 2
Birdos are encountered as bosses serving under Wart. Depending on the type of Birdo, it appears pink, red or gray (green in the remakes) and has different abilities. The pink Birdos shoot eggs, the gray/green Birdos shoot fireballs, and the red Birdos shoot both. Because they don't spit out eggs that the player can use against them, the gray/green Birdos can only be defeated using Mushroom Blocks.

In BS Super Mario USA, the Birdo variations are depicted as three separate characters and are voiced by different voice actors. In Super Mario Advance, the three Birdo variations speak with similar voices, only slightly differing in pitch, but with different lines.

The series is inconsistent on whether the different colored Birdos are the same character, or not.

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Birdos appeared in various episodes of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! as part of the Koopa Pack. In "The Adventures of Dirk Drain-Head" Bowser claimed to keep his Birdos in cages lined with Baroness Blue Blood comic book pages.

"The Bird! The Bird!"
Birdos first appeared in the episode "The Bird! The Bird!", where a female mistakes Toad for her baby, Cheesy, and unwittingly kidnaps him. On the way to rescue him, Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool found Cheepy encased in ice and started a fire to thaw out the Birdo. Meanwhile, Cheepy's mother takes Toad out into the open skies and lets go, sending him into a free-fall. Rather than plummeting to his doom, however, Toad managed to land safely by using his cap as a parachute, after which the group returned Cheepy to his mother. She later repays the heroes by helping them stave off an attack by King Koopa, carrying Toad while he drops vegetables on the soldiers of the Koopa Pack, thus forcing Bowser to retreat.

"Jungle Fever"
Regardless of the defeat, Bowser continued to use Birdos in the Koopa Troop. In "Jungle Fever," King Koopa utilized several of them as guards. This proved beneficial to his cause. One Birdo was able to use its egg to bring down an Albatoss carrying Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad. Despite the efforts of the Birdos, however, King Koopa's plan failed.

"Toad Warriors"
Bowser first deployed Birdos in "Toad Warriors". In order to make money, Bowser stole the vast majority of Car Land's spaghetti sauce supply, planning to sell it back at a very inflated price.

King Koopa assigned three Birdos to act as the guns of his three State Troopa cars by firing eggs at the Rebel Fort while perched atop the vehicles. After the Mario Bros. arrived, Bowser decided to use the Thunder Birdo to attack the fort. Thunder Birdo was driven in on another vehicle, controlled by Mouser, where it proceeded to attack the fort with a gigantic, explosive egg. Afterwards, Bowser used normal Birdo fire until a rebel force, which included Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad, left the fort using a tanker full of spaghetti sauce as bait. During the chase that ensued, the three Birdos were defeated by Luigi's Bob-ombs after attacking Mario and Toadstool. After the two regained control, they saw the approaching Thunder Birdo. Peach climbed on top of the tanker armed with a bag of Bob-ombs. When Mouser approached, the princess hurled the bag into the snout of the Birdo. Thunder Birdo swallowed the Bob-ombs, and their explosion defeated her.

"On Her Majesty's Sewer Service"
During the events of, "On Her Majesty's Sewer Service," Bowser hired an enormous Birdo with dragon wings. A K was emblazoned on its chest. Koopa, Mouser, Tryclyde, and Koopa Troopa embarked to rob Spy Land's Coin supply from Fort Hard Knox, but were pursued by Mario and Luigi in the Spymobile. King Koopa, after several failed attempts to destroy the vehicle, called for the Birdo to lift the Spymobile from the road. The Birdo deposited the brothers in King Koopa's lair.

"Escape from Koopatraz"
In "Escape from Koopatraz", Bowser included one in the jury for the trial of Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad. The Birdo deliberated the decision with the three other members of the jury, until King Koopa threatened them with a Piranha Plant. They quickly condemned Princess Toadstool and her friends as guilty.

"The Unzappables"
In "The Unzappables", a mustachioed blue Birdo wearing a top hat and a tuxedo can be seen dancing with an Ostro in the Koopa Klub.

Nintendo Comics System
As seen in the Nintendo Comics System comics "Bedtime for Drain-Head" and "Betrayal Most Proper", after losing control of the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser employed Birdos as castle guards. Mario came to grips with these guards on two occasions. Under the delusion that he was Dirk Drain-Head in "Bedtime for Drain-Head," Mario entered Bowser's Castle to save Toad. After laying waste to a large number of enemies outside of the castle, a Birdo blocked Mario's path as he tried to enter the castle, shooting eggs at him. However, Mario quickly picked them up and threw them back, defeating this Birdo as he had defeated the Birdo in Super Mario Bros. 2. The second occasion, in "Betrayal Most Proper," Mario and Toad were attempting to rescue Wooster when they were attacked by Birdos in Bowser's Castle. When Mario and Toad's movement was impaired by a conveyor belt moving in the opposite direction they were running, the Birdos began firing eggs. Rather than defeat the Birdos, the rescuers simply ran onwards.

Mario Tennis series
Many different colored Birdos appear as background NPCs in cutscenes in Mario Power Tennis for the GameCube, most notably the red Birdo in Bowser's trophy acceptance cutscene.

Mario Strikers series
Soccer is the one sport in which a substantial number of Birdos participate. In the original Super Mario Strikers tournaments, teams of Birdos can be selected by certain high-profile captains to help them achieve victory. When compared to the other species involved, members of the Birdo species are the most aggressive, scoring the hard hits against opponents necessary in the sport. The events are also a huge draw for Birdo spectators.

In the sequel, Mario Strikers Charged, multiple Birdos compete as sidekick players, this time breaking away from all Birdo teams and playing alongside other species. Birdos once again appear as one of the many species filling the stadiums.

The following is a list of Birdo colors appearing in Mario Strikers Charged.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
Birdos as well as the character Birdo appear in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. In the game, several colored Birdos serve as goalies in the Football event and a partner to Birdo in the Badminton Doubles in the London Party mode.

Other appearances
Aside from the Mario Strikers participants, there is one Birdo known to participate in many sports competitions. Birdo made her sports debut in Mario Tennis and has continued to participate in the competitions of Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Superstar Baseball, Mario Hoops 3-on-3, Mario Kart Wii, Mario Super Sluggers, and Mario Golf: World Tour, and has even participated in the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games. Birdos return as goalies in Football and Duel Football in Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and are teammates for Princess Daisy in Football in the 3DS version.

Peaceful Birdos have made appearances in the audiences of many sports and racing games. They first appear at Peach Dome in Mario Power Tennis, and later attend Mario Stadium in Mario Superstar Baseball. Their most recent appearances are in the stands of various tracks of Mario Kart Wii, Mario Super Sluggers and Mario Kart 7. They reprise this role in Mario Sports Mix, in which they can be seen splashing in pools and waving in the background of some courts such as Koopa Troopa Beach, Daisy Garden, and Bowser Jr. Blvd.

In Super Mario Chess, Birdos appear as knights on Bowser's team.

Physical appearance
Birdos are prehistoric birds that resemble dinosaurs, looking vaguely similar to a Yoshi. They have big, trumpet-like mouths from which they shoot eggs, three long eyelashes, and three red spikes on their tails. They usually wear a red bow on their bald head, and sometimes wear a diamond ring on their left hand. They are often depicted with small claws, four fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot, and white pads on their feet and stomach.

Super Mario Strikers Information

 * Bio: "Birdo is always an offensive threat when in possession of the ball. If you're looking for a sidekick who can deliver some points, she is the player for you."

Mario Strikers Charged

 * Type: Power
 * Skillshot: Extreme Egg
 * Deke: Spins to repel opponents.
 * Bio: "This hard-hitting power player lands some of the biggest bone-rattling hits ever seen on the Strikers field. Birdo's shooting is also feared by many goalkeepers, as she can score at will. Her Extreme Egg can beat any game, resulting in quick goals."

Stats

 * Movement: 3
 * Shooting: 10
 * Passing: 3
 * Defense: 10

Trivia

 * In Super Paper Mario, there is a Sammer Guy named Squatting Birdo, an obvious reference to Birdo and her species. Also, like a few other Sammer Guys, Squatting Birdo recognizes his namesake as an almost deity-like creature, and his ramblings when first encountered suggest that Birdos are flightless birds. This may have been a reference to the confusion between Birdo and the ostrich-like Ostro in Super Mario Bros. 2. Birdos did indeed fly in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, however.