Little Bird

PERFORMER	Fran Brill
DEBUT	1969
DESIGN	Jim Henson designer
	Don Sahlin builder

Little Bird in 1969.

"Song of One"

Little Bird in 1990.

Little Bird and his fellow neighbors in 1999.

Little Bird in Episode 5001, with his teddy bear, Walter.

Little Bird's nest at the carriage house in Episode 2819.

Little Bird first appeared on Sesame Street in Season 1, sometimes used as a foil to Big Bird, due to their contrasting sizes. Little Bird was initially recycled from the Muppet version of the Kenner Gooney Bird created by Jim Henson for Easy Bake Oven commercials in 1968.

Although Little Bird is primarily performed by a female puppeteer, the character is most often male. The song "Mr. Big Bird, Mr. Little Bird" appears on the Grin & Giggle with Big Bird LP, where the character is referred to using masculine pronouns. The 1973 Character Style Guide from CTW also describes him as a "he." In contrast, there are at least two instances of the character being identified using female pronouns; Sleepytime Bird (1977) and the street story for Episode 2748 (1990). In episode 59 of The MuppetCast, Fran Brill confirmed in an e-mail that she always thought of Little Bird as a male.

Henson, who originated the Bird in the Kenner commercials, performed Little Bird in at least two sketches from the first season: a sketch from Episode 0028, in which he meets Big Bird, and the game show "Pick Your Pet." Although Little Bird was used sporadically on the show, he proved effective with test audiences:

“Although he did not appear often, children were really attentive to Little Bird. They participated fully during his "Imagination Game." Perhaps he could play a greater role on the street.”

Little Bird was used rarely on the show itself beyond the 1970s (although he continued as a minor character in books). However, he made several cameo appearances on the show during the 1980s and 1990s. He was a recurring patron of Birdland (such as in "The Birdland Jump"), appeared in a brief fly-by during the song "Do-Op Hop," and sang a line in "We Are All Earthlings." Little Bird also appears in the "Rainbow Connection" finale in The Muppet Movie, features in a 1999 promotion group shot (pictured), and appears as an animatronic figure in the ride Spaghetti Space Chase at Universal Studios Singapore.

Episode 2748 from 1990 (in which she appears as a girl) featured a street story focused on Little Bird moving to Sesame Street. She tries to be nest mates with Big Bird but finds that she can't sleep with the noise of his snoring. She asks Oscar if she can move into his trash can, but he says he doesn't share his can with anybody nice, unless they're messy. He starts to warm up to the idea when he realizes they're arguing about it, but by then Little Bird isn't interested anymore. After she decides she wouldn't want to live on Snuffy's back either, everyone gets the idea to build her a house out of an old milk carton. A regular sized one is too small, so they build one out of a Snuffleupagus sized carton, except another bird moves in before she can. Finally, when everyone is drinking glasses of milk to empty another carton, Little Bird decides to just move back to the park instead.

Long absent from the series, Little Bird returned for new appearances in Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration and in the show's 50th season, performed in the latter by Stephanie D'Abruzzo. In the season premiere, it is revealed that Little Bird is Big Bird's cousin and currently lives in California. Little Bird also has a teddy bear named Walter, which, like Big Bird's Radar, is a reference to Walter O'Reilly from M*A*S*H. Little Bird appeared in the last on-location edition of Big Bird's Road Trip that season, appearing alongside Big Bird in California.

Marionette versions of Little Bird have been used often for flying scenes such as in Episode 0261, Episode 0396, the "Song of One," "I Whistle a Happy Tune," and "Do-Op Hop"; the character has also appeared in animated form.

The Little Bird puppet has been used as the basis of other one-off characters by adding or removing feathers and facial features, including a mommy bird, a duck in the story of "The Queen's Questions," and a Hickory Dickory Duck. A rare exception is in Episode 0727, where an unaltered Little Bird plays a baby bird that Big Bird helps hatch and raise.

Little Bird's birthday is marked in Sesame Street Calendars as December 17.

Episodes

• Season 1 — 0095 (Caroll Spinney)
• Season 2 — 0131, 0132, 0145, 0151, 0154, 0159, 0165, 0168, 0177, 0179, 0181, 0182, 0185, 0189, 0193, 0195, 0199, 0204, 0207, 0208, 0209, 0218, 0225, 0238, 0253, 0261, 0262
• Season 3 — 0315, 0327, 0396, 0405
• Season 4 — 0456 (Jerry Nelson)
• Season 5 — 0559 (Spinney), 0561 (Nelson)
• Season 9 — 1097
• Season 10 — 1191 (Bob Payne), 1199 (Payne)
• Season 18 — 2260, 2304, 2306
• Season 20 — 2532 (silent cameo)
• Season 21 — 2686
• Season 22 — 2748, 2819, 2834, 2874
• Season 24 — 3060
• Season 26 — 3370
• Season 27 — 3457
• Season 50 — 5001

Songs

Vocals

• "Mr. Big Bird, Mr. Little Bird"
• "Wonderful/Yucchy"
• "We Are All Earthlings"
• "Big Bird's Lullaby" (referred to with female pronouns)

Appearance

• "Song of One"
• "I Whistle a Happy Tune"
• "The Birdland Jump"
• "Do-Op Hop"

Sketches

Picture	Title / EKA	Description
	Big Bird meets Little Bird Episode 0028	Big Bird sees Little Bird (Jim Henson) and wonders what kind of animal he is. He tries to communicate with Little Bird by barking, meowing, and mooing, until he finally asks what Little Bird is. After Little Bird tells Big Bird that he's a bird, Big Bird doesn't believe him, thinking that birds are big, so Little Bird compares their similarities until he convinces Big Bird that he is a bird. Video: Old School: Volume 1 Book: Sesame Street Unpaved, page 36
	Pick Your Pet Episode 0067	Little Bird (Jim Henson) is one of three options for Lucy Jones in the game show "Pick Your Pet."
	The Zoo Episode 0137	Grover visits the zoo to talk about birds. He visits the bird cage and swaps places with Little Bird. Two Anything Muppets come and admire him.
	Imagination Game Episode 0148	Little Bird plays an imagination game with the audience. He closes his eyes and imagines things. He ends the game by imagining a monster behind him, and when he opens his eyes, Herry Monster appears behind him.
	Next To Episode 0167	Little Bird talks about the concept of "next to," and Cookie Monster cuddles up next to Little Bird.
	Bird Episode 0257	Grover, Herry, and Cookie Monster come across a sign reading "bird," then pet and fawn over a nearby Little Bird (who does not enjoy the experience).
	Nest Episode 0497	Lola inquires about living in a tree, but Little Bird (Jerry Nelson) informs her that trees are where birds build their nests.
	Casa Episode 2095	A casa (house) is drawn for Little Bird, who replies "Casa." Video: Sesame Street Classics
	California Road Trip Episode 5010	Little Bird appears in the ninth installment of "Big Bird's Road Trip" where he and Big Bird talk to a boy who lives in California.

Notes

• Little Bird was originally written to appear in "The Story of The Girl, the Tree, and the Terrible Troll" (First: Episode 0307), but the final version features a blue bird performed by Jerry Nelson. The puppet used here is the Little Bird puppet with an outer blue covering. This altered version also served as a cuckoo clock bird in episodes 0656 and 0665.

• The Little Bird puppet was recycled with a long duck bill as Quincey the duck in "The Queen's Questions." (First: Episode 0164) Quincey appears in the show's illustrated credit scroll used during seasons 3 through 5. This version of the puppet also appears in Episode 0236.

International appearances

• On Sesamstrasse, his name is Klein Bibo, "klein" being German for "little," and "Bibo" referring to the translated name for Big Bird.

• In Sesame Street books that are translated to Dutch, his name is Pinorino, referring to Pino from Sesamstraat.

• Between 2003 and 2005, the puppet was used on Sesamstrasse for an unnamed bird and Turbo Theo in episodes 2214 and 2222, respectively. The puppet was also used as a cuckoo bird that Finchen helped to find a new sound.

Book appearances

Big Bird and Little Bird's Big & Little Book 1977

Big Bird and Little Bird's Big & Little Book 1983

The Sesame Street Postcard Book

Big and Little Stories

Sesamstrasse magazine

Page from the 1977 edition of Who's Who on Sesame Street

• The Sesame Street Storybook, cover and frontispiece only (1971)
• The Together Book (1971)
• The Sesame Street Storybook (1972)
• The Sesame Street Coloring Book (1973)
• The Sesame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook, cover only (1973)
• The Sesame Street ABC Storybook, cover only (1974)
• Big Bird's Busy Book (1975)
• Bert's Big Band Paint-with-Water Book (1976)
• The Sesame Street Postcard Book (1976)
• Big Bird and Little Bird's Big & Little Book (1977)
• Ernie's Book of Animals (1977)
• Muppets in My Neighborhood (1977)
• Sesame Street Goes West (1977)
• Big Bird Gets Lost (1978)
• The Sesame Street Cookbook (1978)
• The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook, cover only (1978)
• Cookie Monster's Storybook (1979)
• Early Bird on Sesame Street (1980)
• Fix It, Please (1980)
• I Can Do It Myself (1980)
• The Sesame Street Dictionary (1980)
• A Day in the Life of Oscar the Grouch (1981)
• I Have a Friend (1981)
• Sherlock Hemlock and the Creatures from Outer Space (1981)
• The Sesame Street Circus of Opposites (1981)
• Big and Little Stories (1982)
• More Who's Who on Sesame Street (1982)
• Sesame Street Finding Out Encyclopedia 2: The B Book (1982)
• Sesame Street Finding Out Encyclopedia 5: The EF Book (1982)
• Sesame Street Finding Out Encyclopedia 6: The GH Book (1982)
• Sesame Street Finding Out Encyclopedia 13: The T Book (1982)
• The Sesame Street Question and Answer Book About Animals (1983)
• Early Bird on Sesame Street (1983)
• Nobody Cares About Me! (1983)
• The Adventures of Big Bird in Dinosaur Days (1984)
• I Think That It Is Wonderful (1984)
• Trace & Color Alphabet (1984)
• A Silly Sesame Street Story: The Three Little Pigs (1984)
• Big Bird's Book of Rhymes (1985)
• Big Bird's Busy Day (1987)
• The Colors of Spring (1987)
• The Runaway Soup and Other Stories (1987)
• Going Places (1988)
• The Sesame Street ABC Book of Words (1988)
• A My Name Is Alice (1989)
• Great Monsterpieces (1989)
• I Can't Wait Until Christmas (1989)
• Bert's Beautiful Sights (1990)
• Museum of Monster Art (1990)
• The Treasure Hunt (1990)
• Hide-and-Seek with Big Bird (1991)
• Sesame Street 123 (1991)
• Sleep Tight! (1991)
• My Name Is Big Bird (1992)
• A New Way to Get to Sesame Street (1992)
• The Sesame Street Book of Poetry (1992)
• We're Different, We're the Same (1992)
• I Spy: A Game to Read and Play (1993)
• From Trash to Treasure (1993)
• Sesame Street's Mother Goose Rhymes (1993)
• Elmo's Big Lift-and-Look Book (1994)
• Sesame Street Stays Up Late! (1995)
• Elmo's Lift-and-Peek Around the Corner Book (1996)
• K Is for Kisses! (1996)
• Rise and Shine! (1996; reworked as Up, Up, Up! in 2011)
• Christmas Songs (1997)
• Elmo Can... Quack Like a Duck (1997)
• Elmo's Christmas Colors (1997)
• Where Is Elmo's Blanket? (1999)
• Land, Sea, and Sky (2002)
• Look and Find Elmo (2002)
• Fun with Friends (2004)
• The City Sings a Song! (2005)
• Holiday Fun (2005)
• Fly Away with Big Bird (2006)
• Learn About Measuring with Big Bird (2006)
• Good Night, Tucked in Tight (2007)
• Elmo's World Super Sticker Book (2007)
• Lots of Opposites (2007)
• Rosita's Easter on Sesame Street (2007)
• Los oficios de Elmo: Veterinario (2008)
• In Elmo's Easter Parade (2009)
• Meet the People in Your Neighborhood (2009)
• Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood? (2009)
• Busy Friends (2010)
• Out & About (2010)
• Plant a Tree for Me! (2010)
• Love from Sesame Street (2018)
• Big Bird's Road Trip (2019)
• Home for the Holidays (2021)
• Joy to the World (2021)
• Elmo Asks Why (2023)

Merchandise

Sleepytime Bird

• Sesame Street PVC figures (Applause)
• Sesame Street PVC figures (Fisher-Price)
• Sesame Street figurines (Enesco)
• Sesame Street squeak toys (Tommee Tippee)
• Sesame Street bubble toys (Little Kids, Inc.)
• Sesame Street nightlights (Enesco)
• Sesame Street lamps (Dolly Toy)
• Sesame Street advent calendar
• Sesame Street Christmas ornaments (Gorham)
• Sesame Street music boxes (Gorham)
• Sesame Street dinnerware (Gorham)
• Sesame Street necklaces (Femic)
• Sesame Street Magic Slates
• Big Bird's Big Little Play Pad
• Sesame Street pencil toppers
• Muppet Cuppets
• Big Bird Colorforms Play Set
• Busy Builders Playtown
• Sesame Street record player (Fisher-Price)
• Sesame Street needlecraft kits
• Sesame Street Easter egg kits (PAAS)
• Sesame Street trading cards
• Sesame Street alarm clocks (Spartus)
• Sesame Street picture frames (Vandor)
• Sesame Street picture frames (Enesco)
• Big Bird's Birdtime Stories (album cover)
• Counting Café (video game)
• Big Bird's Hide & Speak (video game)
• Alphabet Avenue (video game)
• Big Bird's Special Delivery (video game)
• T-shirt
• Sesame Street bobbleheads (Vandor)
• Sesame Street Kubricks

1978 poster

1980 poster

Sesame Street trading cards

Sesame Street trading cards

Puzzles

See also

• Little Bird's precursor, Kenner Gooney Bird
• Similar looking birds, Arthur, Turbo Theo, Birdie, and Alarm Clock Bird
• Baby Big Bird
• Small Bird
• Big Bird becomes little in Episode 4107 and Episode 4108