Birdo

      

Birdo
Birdo's artwork from Mario Party 9
Chronological information
First game	Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987, overall) Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988, Mario media)
Latest game	Mario & Luigi: Brothership (2024)
TV show appearances	The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Personal information
Alias	Birdetta Kissy Ostro (by mistake)
Gender	Female (See below for more informations)
Status	Alive
Homeland	Subcon (Super Mario Bros. 2) Mushroom Kingdom (Wario Woods)
Species	Birdo
Race	Birdo
Connections
Affiliation	8-bits (formerly)
Friends	Wart Yoshi (possible boyfriend) Popple (formerly) Peach Daisy
Enemies	Anyone who insists she is neither female nor attractive
Character traits
Alignment	Neutral (Self-serving)
Emblem	Birdo's ribbon
Behind the scenes
Current English voice actor	Jen Taylor (1999-2008)
Current Japanese voice actor	Kazumi Totaka (2003-present)

"This is as far as you go!"

—Birdo, Super Mario Advance

Birdo (キャサリン, Kyasarin^?, lit. Catherine), self-referred to as Birdetta and the shorthand Birdie, is a recurring character in the Mario franchise. She first appeared in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, a Japanese game featuring Birdo as the first boss, but she has since become a part of the Mario franchise when the game was localized overseas as Super Mario Bros. 2.

Profile

Physical description

Birdo is a pink Birdo who wears a giant red bow. Birdo looks very similar to a Yoshi. She has bright pink skin, a white belly, and red ridges on her back. She has four fingers and three toes on each hand and foot respectively. Her snout is shaped like a trumpet, for shooting her signature eggs. For accessories, she wears are a large red bow on the back of her head and a large diamond ring on her left hand.

Personality traits

Birdo is a feminine and confident. She is often seen striking poses after winning.

Relationship with Yoshi

In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Yoshi and Birdo are partners and share a similar Special Item. On the official Japanese site for the game, the description for Catherine states that she "appears to be Yoshi's girlfriend, but is actually his boyfriend!?" (ヨッシーの彼女に見えて実は彼氏!?)

In Mario Tennis for the Nintendo 64, they share a tennis court and are default partners; the two are seen to be very affectionate. In the Mario Baseball series, they share good chemistry with each other, and she is the Sub-Captain of Yoshi's team. The two also share the same Special Orb in Mario Party 7.

Powers and abilities

• Egg Throw: Birdo can spit eggs from her mouth. They act like a projectile.
• Vehicular Mastery: In Mario Kart series, Birdo can drive either a kart or a bike.

Gender

The game manual for Super Mario Bros. 2 refers to Birdo as being male, and only "thinking" she is female.

Birdo's gender has been debated throughout the series. According to the North American instruction manual for Super Mario Bros. 2, "[Birdo] thinks he is a girl and likes to be called Birdetta." Which despite the outdated language, would imply Birdo is a transgender woman. However, later versions of the game make no mention in the manual nor the video game itself. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Birdo's trophy description describes the character as one of "indeterminate gender", using the pronoun "it" rather than gender-specific pronouns such as "he" or "she". However, several other sources refer to Birdo as a female. The confusion surrounding Birdo's gender has also been addressed in a light-hearted matter, such as when Popple pauses before settling on calling Birdo a "dame" in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, before Birdo insists he call her Birdie. In Super Mario Advance though, the Birdos feature female voices. In Paper Mario: Sticker Star, the first lyrics of Birdo's serenade allude to the gender confusion by saying, "Heart of a woman, heart of a man... Both can know of love's grace..." Other Media such as Captain Rainbow, while doing it in a really bizarre manner, depict Birdo as transgender. Where you find a questionable and censored object in Birdo's room known as "Female Proof".

In games for the Japanese-only Satellaview, Birdo is consistently shown as an okama, a Japanese term that usually refers to a masculine man that dresses as a woman, but is also used as a slur interchangeably to refer to trans women, gay men, crossdressing men, and effeminate men. In Satella-Q, a picture of Birdo is shown with a masculine, humanoid torso, while in BS Super Mario USA, all three Birdos are shown making typically feminine poses in the world title cards but are given deep voices, being voiced by actual self-identified okama.

Nintendo of America usually refers to Birdo as female. The femininity of Birdo is implied in Mario Kart 8, where she appears on "Women of Racing Organization" advertisements in Template:Classic-link along with other female characters, and in Sunshine Airport, where she is referred to on the broadcasting system as "Ms. Birdo". In the North American instruction booklet of Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, every female character has a pink dot behind them, including Birdo. Nintendo of Europe usually refers to Birdo as female as well; however, the character is referred to with masculine pronouns in the British English localizations of Mario Tennis Aces and Super Mario Party (other localizations of these games use feminine pronouns for her instead, besides the French and Chinese translations which are ambiguous). Additionally, in Mario Super Sluggers, Peach's Heart Swing, which stuns male characters and characters of unknown gender, does not stun female characters, including Birdo.

In Mario Tennis and Super Mario Advance, Birdo is given a feminine voice, with the latter being provided by the voice actress of Princess Peach and Princess Daisy at the time, Jen Taylor. However, starting with her appearance in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, she is given a masculine-sounding voice provided by composer and Yoshi voice actor Kazumi Totaka instead.

The confusion surrounding Birdo's gender has also been addressed in a light-hearted matter, such as when Popple pauses before settling on calling Birdo a "dame" in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. The description of Birdo on the Japanese Mario Kart: Double Dash!! website jokes about the matter ("Birdo appears to be Yoshi's girlfriend, but is actually his boyfriend!?"), as do the Spanish website and manual for Super Mario Strikers ("Birdo is your man... well, or woman."). In Paper Mario: Sticker Star, the first lyrics of Birdo's serenade allude to the gender confusion by saying, "Heart of a woman, heart of a man... Both can know of love's grace..."

Game data

Timeline

[Edit] Game	Role	Year	Console	Notes
Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic	Boss	1987	Family Computer Disk System
Super Mario Bros. 2	Boss	1988	Nintendo Entertainment System	Same as in Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic

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Behind the scenes

Etymology

Birdo's name is derived from "bird" even though nothing really resembles a bird on her. The O might also reference their O-shaped snouts. The suffix o is also a masculine suffix in Latin.

Quotes

"Well, hello there."

—Birdo, Super Mario Advance

"I'll remember this!"

—Birdo, Super Mario Advance

"You may have defeated my darling, but that is as far as you go!"

—Birdo, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Trivia

• Birdo makes a character reference in the 2011 film, Rio.
• The band Horse The Band has a song dedicated to Birdo.
• In the instruction manual for Super Mario Bros. 2, Birdo and Ostro's names are switched.
• The pads of Birdo's feet are similar to that of Bowser Jr..

Gallery

To view Birdo's image gallery, click here.

References

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