Big Bird
| Big Bird | |
|---|---|
| Sesame Street character | |
Big Bird (left) during filming of a 1989 episode of Sesame Street alongside former First Lady of the United States Barbara Bush | |
| First appearance | Gordon introduces Sally to Sesame Street (November 10, 1969) |
| Created by |
|
| Performed by | Caroll Spinney (1969–2018) Daniel Seagren (stand-in, 1969; 1970) Matt Vogel (1996–present) |
| Birthday | March 20 |
| In-universe information | |
| Nicknames | Grandsonny, by Granny Bird Bird, by his best friend, Snuffy Turkey, feather face, and others, by Oscar the Grouch |
| Species | Muppet bird |
| Gender | Male |
| Family | Granny Bird (grandmother) Eight foreign cousins |
| Nationality | American |
Big Bird is a Muppet character designed by Jim Henson and built by Kermit Love for the children's television show Sesame Street. An eight-foot-two-inch-tall (249 cm) bright yellow anthropomorphic bird, he can roller skate, ice skate, dance, swim, sing, write poetry, draw, and ride a unicycle. Despite this wide array of talents, he is prone to frequent misunderstandings, on one occasion even singing the alphabet as a single word (pronouncing it as /æbkədɛfɡiːdʒɛkəlmɪnɒpkwərˈstuːvwɪksɪz/ in the song "ABC-DEF-GHI"). He would refer to grocer Mr. Hooper as "Mr. Looper", among other mispronunciations. He lives in a large nest behind the 123 Sesame Street brownstone and right next to Oscar the Grouch's trash can. In Season 46, the nest sits within a small, furnished maple tree, and is no longer hidden by used construction doors. He has a teddy bear named Radar.
Caroll Spinney performed Big Bird from 1969 to 2018. Matt Vogel began as an understudy in 1996 before becoming the character's full-time performer in 2018.
In 2000, Big Bird was named a Living Legend by the United States Library of Congress.