Big Bird is an 8'2" yellow bird who lives on Sesame Street. Since Sesame Street premiered in 1969, Big Bird has entertained millions of preschool children and their parents with his wide-eyed wondering at the world.
The world-famous bird has been a central character on Sesame Street for the program's run, debuting in the first episode. The big yellow bird can roller skate, ice skate, dance, sing, write poetry, draw and even ride a unicycle — pretty talented for a character described in the TV show's writer's guide as a 6-year-old. But despite this wide array of talents, he's prone to frequent misunderstandings, like thinking that the alphabet is one long word.
Big Bird lives in a large nest behind 123 Sesame Street and next to Oscar's trash can, and he has a teddy bear named Radar.
Big Bird helps children feel all right about not knowing everything because he himself does not know everything, and encourages them to inquire: a common Big Bird phrase in recent years has been "Asking questions is a good way of finding things out!" He also teaches other life, alphabet, and numerical lessons: "I guess it's better to be who you are. Turns out people like you best that way, anyway."
Notes
- Both Carly Ciarrocchi and Kaitlin Becker called Big Bird their "favorite Sesame character" in interviews at SproutOnline.com.