Editing Big Bird (section)

==Costume and portrayal==

Big Bird was designed by a drawing from [[Jim Henson]] and built by [[Kermit Love]] in 1969. The design was based on a previous Henson creation, a {{convert|7|ft|cm|spell=in|adj=mid|-tall}} dragon that the puppeteer created for a La Choy advertising campaign.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference|last=Gladwell|first=Malcolm|date=2000|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=0316346624|edition=1st|location=Boston|oclc=42397965}}</ref> The Big Bird performer is completely enclosed within the costume, and extends their right hand over their head to operate the head and neck of the puppet. The Muppeteer's left hand serves as the Bird's left wing, while the right wing is stuffed and hangs loosely from a fishing line that runs through a loop under the neck and attaches to the wrist of the left hand. The right hand thus does the opposite of the left hand: as the left hand goes down, the right hand is pulled up by the fishing line. A secondary muppeteer would be used in scenes where Big Bird uses both his wings or holds something in the right wing.[[File:Big Bird (original design sketch).webp|right|thumb|Henson's original sketch for Big Bird. Left: the puppet's exterior appearance. Right: Cutaway image showing how the puppet is operated.]]

Big Bird's body suit weighs ten pounds, and his head weighs four pounds. According to writer Louise Gikow, the heat inside the suit is "unbearable, and it's extraordinarily difficult to hold Big Bird's head."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gikow|first=Louise A.|title=Sesame Street: A Celebration— Forty Years of Life on the Street|publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers|year=2009|location=New York|page=37|isbn=978-1-57912-638-4}}</ref>

Different versions of Big Bird are portrayed in some international versions of ''Sesame Street''. For example, the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] version has a blue bird named Pino. In the Latin American version (Plaza Sésamo), Big Bird's parrot cousin, Abelardo Montoya, is featured. He appears similar to Big Bird, but he is green.<ref>{{cite web|title=Did You Know That 'Sesame Street's Big Bird & 'Plaza Sésamo's Abelardo Are Cousins?|url=https://remezcla.com/lists/film/sesame-street-big-bird-plaza-sesamo-abelardo-cousins-reunite/|website=Remezcla|date=August 5, 2019}}</ref>

Big Bird's appearance has changed over the years, as has his personality. He originally had very few feathers on the top of his head; his body feathers were also more shaggy and unkempt. As time went on he gradually gained more feathers on his head, giving it a more rounded appearance, and developed a blaze-like crest of lighter yellow feathers above his eyes. His body feathers got fluffier, rounder and more well groomed as well. His personality developed over time from a more dopey and "bird-brained" character into the gentle, childlike innocent he is known as today. Although all the ''Sesame Street'' Muppet characters are technically ageless, Big Bird is psychologically written to represent a six-year-old.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Borgenicht|first=David|title=Sesame Street Unpaved: Scripts, Stories, Secrets, and Songs|publisher=Children's Television Workshop (CTW)|year=1998|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/sesamestreetunpa0000borg/page/34 34]|isbn=0-7868-6460-5|url=https://archive.org/details/sesamestreetunpa0000borg/page/34}}</ref>

The costume is partially assembled by company American Plume & Fancy Feather, using the tail feathers from [[Domesticated turkey|turkeys]]; as the feathers are rarely clean, company owner Anthony Trento calls the Big Bird costume his "toughest customer". [[Sesame Workshop]] is said to reject roughly 90 percent of all the feathers selected for use on the costume.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2008/04/03/smbusiness/Birds_feathers.fsb/index.htm?postversion=2008040415|title=The man who feathers Big Bird|last=Trento|first=Anthony|work=[[CNNMoney.com]]|date=April 4, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208220303/https://money.cnn.com/2008/04/03/smbusiness/birds_feathers.fsb/index.htm?postversion=2008040415|archive-date=December 8, 2008|access-date=November 12, 2019}}</ref>

===International versions (adaptations)===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Country / Region
! Big Bird's cousin
! Description
! Performer
|-
|{{BRA}}
|Garibaldo
| Original version was bright blue, with a long pointed beak and blue-striped legs; 2007 introduced a yellow version identical to the American Big Bird
|Laerte Morrone (1972–1977)<br>Fernando Gomes (2007–2014)<br>Hugo Picchi (2009)<br>Falcon Mantovani (2019)
|-
|{{flag|China}}
|大鸟 (Da Niao) (Big Bird)
| Identical to American version
|Zhu Ming
|-
|{{FRA}}
|Toccata
| Grey-white with brown brows, resembling a [[seagull]] or [[albatross]]
|Lucien Morisse<br>Claude Sonneville (singing voice)
|-
|{{MEX}}
|Abelardo Montoya
| Bright green with a pink throat, red face and [[parrot]]-like beak
|Alberto Estrella (1981–1992)<br>Héctor Marquez (1992–1995)<br>Eugenio Bartilotti (1995–2004)<br>Héctor Loeza (2004–present)
|-
|{{NED}}
|Pino
| Pale blue with yellow rings around eyes and multicolored feathered "sprigs" from top of head.
|Dirk Grijspeirt (1976)<br>Theo Joling (1977)<br>Bert Plagman (1979)<br>Erik J. Meijer (1980–1984)<br>Leo Dijkgraaf (1984–1991)<br>Renée Menschaar (1991–present)
|-
|{{POR}}
|Poupas
| Orange with white and brown on face
|Luís Velez
|-
|{{ESP}}
|Caponata
| Primarily orange and yellow feathers on body; red-and-white striped legs, red shoes with bows. Wears a curly pink wig.
|Emma Cohen
|-
|{{TUR}}
|Minik Kuş
| Orange with pink feathers on face
|Hakan Odabaşı
|}