Who is your favorite avian character in book or film? for Questionland Seattle

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Who is your favorite avian character in book or film?

I live with intelligent psittacine birds with strong personalities.

Birds are surprisingly frequent as characters in books and film. Sometimes just as a minor, but importantly brief presence like Big Bird (a Hyacinth Macaw) in Dragonfly (starring Kevin Costner, directed by Tom Shadyac), and other times as major characters like the Blue-crowned Conure "Paulie", in the movie of the same name (starring Tony Shalhoub, Gena Rowlands, and Cheech Marin, directed by John Roberts). There are avian characters in the Harry Potter series, Sesame Street, and who could forget Fred the cockatoo with Robert Blake in the TV series, Baretta (well for those of us old enough), and of course Warner Brothers cartoons have their share of birds (Daffy, Foghorn Leghorn) and before that there was Heckle and Jeckle. (Can we agree not to select the gull that smashes into the phone booth in Hitchcock's "The Birds"?)

Often portrayal of cute, quirky, intelligent birds in these roles is a motivation for folks getting a parrot as a pet without the new owners being aware of what is involved (work, mess, longevity, necessary lifestyle changes), but I digress.

My favorite is the African Grey Parrot named Madison in the book "Harry's Mad" by Dick King-Smith. The illustrations by Jill Bennett are wonderful and prompted me to seek her out and have a pleasant email exchange about the work and her experiences with a parrot when she was a young girl. Madison (or "Mad") is a highly intelligent bird willed to Harry Holdsworth, a young boy in Great Britain by his great uncle, an American university professor of linguistics. Madison communicates with Harry first and later melds into the family helping Harry with his homework, Dad with his word puzzles, and Mom with recipes until he is stolen by a burglar one day and has to find his way back home through a series of adventures.

I wish I could list this in both Books and Films/TV categories, but if you are reading this, it found an audience.

Russ Campbell, NWEBS asked in General Book Discussion 6 months ago | Report

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I liked the birds in the tree on Mister Roger's when they went to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

I also love the Harry Potter owls and the hippogriff.

Kristin Bell answered in General Book Discussion 6 months ago | Report

3 comments by Russ Campbell, NWEBS, RacerX, and Russ Campbell, NWEBS…

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They gave Hedwig a much more noble death in the first Deathly Hallows movie when she intercepted the death curse while flying to protect Harry in the Battle of the Seven Potters.

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Hedwig

I also liked the movie scene with all of the owls hanging around the Dursely's house when they were trying to deliver his invitation to come to school at Hogwarts.

Russ Campbell, NWEBS commented 6 months ago | Report

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uhm SPOILER alert!

RacerX commented 5 months ago | Report

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In what universe? on what planet? The book was published four and half years ago and the film released over a year ago.

You'd have to be living with that guy under a rock in the GEICO commercial.

Russ Campbell, NWEBS commented 5 months ago | Report

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Bubo, the mechanical owl from 'Clash of the Titans'

The Skeksis from 'The Dark Crystal'

Owl from Winnie the Pooh

Matthew, the raven from the Sandman series

Po's goose father in 'Kung Fu Panda'

Sam the Eagle

Opus

rickibot answered in General Book Discussion 6 months ago | Report

2 comments by sublevelthree and Russ Campbell, NWEBS…

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Damn you beat me on the mechanical owl. I would have killed for that little guy when I was a kid

sublevelthree commented 6 months ago | Report

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I had overlooked Po's Dad.

I had to do a little research to find out his name was Mr. Ping, which makes our hero's name to be Po Ping, or with the naming conventions sometimes having surname first, Ping Po.

Russ Campbell, NWEBS commented 6 months ago | Report

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*The Goose Prince in The Fledgeling (book).
*Louis, from Trumpet of the Swan.
*Mr. Ibis in American Gods.
*Flit, in Pocahontas (a calliope hummingbird, maybe?)
*The parrot umbrella in Mary Poppins
*Marahute the eagle in The Rescuers Down Under.
*The Firebird (of Russian legend).
*The unnamed sparrow in The Happy Prince.
*The unnamed sparrow in Thumbelina.
*The Roadrunner.

NOT Iago in Aladdin.

I need to get around to reading Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

Sacrelicious answered in General Book Discussion 6 months ago | Report

2 comments by rickibot and RacerX…

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Oh, The Fledgeling! It has been too long since I last read that book...

rickibot commented 6 months ago | Report

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parrot umbrella and roadrunner-- awesome!

RacerX commented 5 months ago | Report

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Woodstock from Charlie Brown.

Marty Unger answered in General Book Discussion 6 months ago | Report

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Farley Mowat's memoir, The Dog Who Wouldn't Be, has a chapter devoted to two orphaned Great Horned owlets, Weeps and Wol, whom the Mowats adopt. (This chapter of the book takes place in the 1930's - I assume having owls as pets, even orphaned ones, is probably frowned upon these days.) Weeps is timid and retiring, while Wol is outgoing and mischievous. Weeps either is killed or disappears early on, if I remember right, but Wol becomes part of the family and continues to periodically visit and hang around the Mowat residence long after he's able to fly and hunt on his own. He is a jokester, and especially enjoys playing with/tormenting the family dog, hiding his bones and so on. There are some pretty hilarious descriptions of Wol's exploits, and also of people's shocked reactions to the Mowats' unusual family member. Wol eventually meets a sad end when he returns to the house after the Mowats have vacated it, and the house's new occupant (understandably) misinterprets his friendliness as an attack.

(Mowat's more kid-oriented book, Owls in the Family, is a novelized version of the story.)

Nim Chimpsky answered in General Book Discussion 6 months ago | Report

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I had an ornithology/behavior professor in the late 70's that told about rescuing a Screech Owl that he had found injured while doing field studies. While the bird was recovering from his injuries he would spend days in a large compartment of his roll top desk sleeping and perch on his shoulder in the evenings/night while he worked writing and tabulating data. He left a window open in the room and one night the bird went to the sill, looked back at him and then flew into the night, never to return.

I was aware of the "Owls in the Family" book, but not the other reference.

I think of this favorite quote sometimes when I am enjoying a shoulder bird experience at home:

"I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn." ~Henry David Thoreau

Russ Campbell, NWEBS commented 6 months ago | Report

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