Birdo (species)

The Birdo species is a fictional race of brightly-colored, large-snouted beings from the Super Mario series. Originally, in Super Mario Bros. 2, only one Birdo was shown to exist; she was named Birdo, and later developed into a major character in the spin-offs of the series. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! was the first source in which other Birdos appeared. The television show is also responsible for naming the species, as to this day they remain unnamed in the video games. Other Birdos would later appear as spectators in various Mario titles, starting in Mario Power Tennis, and eventually made playable appearances in Mario Smash Football and Mario Strikers Charged Football.

Birdos have the ability to shoot eggs, fireballs, or both out of his or her snout; this ability has inspired a variety of villains, including Bowser, to hire them for their offensive abilities. They are sometimes associated with Yoshis because both species are dinosaur-based, and produce eggs for combat and defensive purposes. It is in style for both female and male Birdos to wear bows and eye makeup.

Background
Bowser first took attention to Birdos shortly after Mario and Luigi saved Princess Peach in Super Mario Bros. In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, he hired several, including the Thunder Birdo, to be members of the Koopa Pack because of their ability to fire eggs as weapons. In "The Adventures of Dirk Drain-Head" Bowser claimed to keep his Birdos in cages lined with Baroness Blue Blood comic book pages.

Peaceful Birdos have had a presence in the audience for many sports and racing games. They first appeared at the Peach Dome in Mario Power Tennis, and then filled Mario Stadium in Mario Superstar Baseball. Their most recent appearances have been in the stands of various tracks of Mario Kart Wii and Mario Super Sluggers, and they reprise this role in Mario Sports Mix, in which they can be seen enjoying the sun, splashing in pools and waving in the background in some courts such as: Koopa Troopa Beach, Daisy Garden, and Bowser Jr. Blvd..

"Butch Mario and the Luigi Kid"
In the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode "Butch Mario & the Luigi Kid", King Koopa used a Birdo to count him and Mario off in a duel. The Birdo emerged from a Pokey.

"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.

"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.

"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.

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, this 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 appeared as background NPCs in cutscenes in Mario Power Tennis for the GameCube, most notably the red Birdo in Bowser's trophy acceptance cutscene.

Mario Football series
Football is the one sport that a substantial number of Birdos have joined. In the original Mario Smash Football tournaments, teams of Birdos allied themselves with certain high-profile captains and helped them achieve victory. When compared to the other species involved, members of the Birdo species were the most aggressive, scoring the hard hits against opponents necessary in the sport. The events were also a huge draw for Birdo spectators.

The next iteration of the sport, Mario Strikers Charged Football, also drew much attention from the Birdo species as a whole. Once again, multiple Birdos competed as sidekick players, this time breaking away from all Birdo teams and playing alongside other species. And again, Birdos were one of the many species filling the stadiums.

''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 Football participants, there is one Birdo known to participate in many sports competitions. Birdo made her sports debut in Mario Tennis and 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 most recently Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Trivia

 * While the main Birdo is considered to be a pink Birdo, Super Mario Bros. 2 revealed red, green, and gray varieties.
 * Movie clips in Mario Super Sluggers included tan, orange, blue, and yellow Birdos in the audience, in addition to the playable pink Birdo.