Bird (Donkey Kong series)
| Bird | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Artwork of a Bird from Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten | |||
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Jr. (1982) | ||
| Latest appearance | WarioWare Gold (2018) | ||
| Variant of | Nitpicker | ||
| |||
The Donkey Kong Jr. arcade game introduces a species of corvid enemies related to Nitpickers, chiefly referred to as simply Birds[1], though they are sometimes named "Nitpickers" like their relatives.[2][3] They generally differ from Nitpickers for flying across the screen multiple times instead of just once, though may or may not attack the player character with eggs like their relatives depending on the game.
History
Donkey Kong series
Donkey Kong Jr.
These birds[1] make their first appearance in the Chain Scene of Donkey Kong Jr. Like the Nitpickers in the Jump Board Scene, these Birds similarly fly horizontally across the screen, but descend a short height as they meet the screen's margins and continue their flight in the other direction. They flee off-screen after performing four such flights. Unlike Nitpickers, these birds do not bombard Donkey Kong Jr. with eggs. They can be defeated by dropping fruit on them.
In the Atari 2600 port, a single bird flies left to right at the bottom of the stage. In the Intellivision port, they fly off the left or right side of the screen rather than doing their zigzag routine.
Donkey Kong Jr. Math
A lone Bird (known as a "nitpicker")[4] appears in the +-×÷ Exercise mode of Donkey Kong Jr. Math. It hovers over the chains, showing which position Donkey Kong Jr. should fill. It will also show where Donkey Kong Jr. made his mistakes.
Donkey Kong (Game Boy)
Stage 9-4 of Donkey Kong for Game Boy features a nest that spawns two Birds at a time. After rising slowly from their nest, Birds fly horizontally across the room, moving down a short distance and turning back upon meeting the room's limits. They perform three complete flights, and flee outside the map of the stage afterwards. Birds can not be defeated, as the stage they appear in presents no means of doing so. They now attempt to drop eggs on Mario if they fly above him. The eggs can kill Mario if they fall on his head, but he can deflect them with a handstand.
Birds are identical in behavior to Hawks and Kaibādo, other relatives of Nitpickers in this game.
Family BASIC
In the Family BASIC accessory to the Family Computer, it is one of three programmable bird characters. It also makes a cameo on the Message Board.
WarioWare Gold
Birds are obstacles in the Donkey Kong Jr. microgame of WarioWare Gold. They appear on the third difficulty level, flying on a straight line from left to right, across the ropes.
Profiles and statistics
Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten
| クロ (JP) / Bird (EN) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Original text (Japanese) | Translation | ||
| フライ |
Tribe | Fly clan | |
| いじわる | Disposition | Ill-tempered | |
| Game appearances | GB Donkey | ||
| いじわるカラスだ！ |
You nasty crows! Get out of here! A very annoying crow monster that drops its eggs at regular intervals. You can't touch it from above or to the side, and you can't hit it with anything, so just run away from it. | ||
Gallery
Donkey Kong Jr. Math artwork
Sprite of a Bird
A Bird, as illustrated in volume 30 of the Kodansha manga
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ニットピッカー[6] Nittopikkā |
Nitpicker | |
| トリさん[6] Tori-san |
Bird-san | ||
| クロ[5][7] Kuro |
From「黒」(kuro, "black"), after their Game Boy coloration; also a play on the English word "crow" | ||
| French | Oiseau[8] | Bird | |
| Rapace[9] | Raptor | ||
| German | Vogel[8] | Bird | |
| Geier[10] | Vulture | ||
| Italian | Uccellaccio[8] | Bad bird; shared with Big Bird | |
| Uccello[11] | Bird | ||
| Spanish | Pájaro[8] | Bird |
References
- ^ a b Instruction manual for Atari 8-bit port[page number needed]
- ^ Instruction manuals for Atari 2600, ColecoVision, Intellivision, and Coleco Adam ports[page number needed]
- ^ Instruction manual for Atari 7800 port[page number needed]
- ^ 1985. Donkey Kong Jr. Math instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (English). Page 9–10.
- ^ a b 1994. 「パーフェクト版 マリオキャラクター大事典」 (Perfect Ban Mario Character Daijiten). Shogakukan (Japanese) via Imgur. Page 75.
- ^ a b Family BASIC handbook.
- ^ Kazuki, Motoyama. Volume 30 of the KC Deluxe manga. Page 51.
- ^ a b c d Donkey Kong Junior Atari computer version manual (International)
- ^ French ColecoVision manual[page number needed]
- ^ German ColecoVision manual[page number needed]
- ^ Donkey Kong Jr. (Game & Watch) Italian booklet[page number needed]
| Donkey Kong Jr. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characters | Donkey Kong Jr. • Donkey Kong • Mario | |
| Enemies | Bird • Drop* • Egg • Nitpicker • Snapjaw • Spark | |
| Items | Fruit • Key | |
| Objects | Chain • Jump Board • Pole | |
| Rounds | Vine Scene • Jump Board Scene • Mario's Hideout • Chain Scene | |
| Other | Gallery • Media • Pre-release and unused content • Staff | |
