Feathered Fiend: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

{{quote|'''Leliana''': But a bird is a creature of grace, and beauty! They open their mouths and they sing!

'''Shale''': The bard hears music. I hear a wail of banshees that boils my blood.

'''Leliana''': But... what about a nightingale? Or a swan?

 

Everybody knows that birds are some of the least scary animals ever, right? After all, they're small, they're pretty, they sing, [[Killer Rabbit|they have sharp claws and pointy beaks]], [[Zerg Rush|they fly around in huge flocks]], [[Nausea Fuel|they hang out in battlefields and pick the flesh off of the corpses]]...

Wait, what?

 

 

* '''Type B''' - [[Zerg Rush]]. Smaller birds that attack people in huge flocks. These ones are especially fond of [[Eye Scream|pecking people's eyes out]], and sometimes overlap with Type A.

 

Note that this is [[Truth in Television]], as some birds such as cassowaries and swans can be [[Killer Rabbit|surprisingly vicious]] and [[Lethal Joke Character|even outright dangerous]], while others can be indirectly dangerous by carrying diseases like bird flu and psittacosis. (To say nothing of extinct killer avians like the aforementioned Haast's eagles and terror birds, or dino-birds like ''[[Stock Dinosaurs|Deinonychus]]''.)

 

 

{{examples}}

** Confirmed. {{spoiler|After the gang discover the bones stripped bare by the bugs, if you watch the next shot of the owl you can see the trees through it as it flies away.}}

* The evil Raven from ''[[Princess Tutu]]'', and to an extent his daughter Princess Kraehe (Crow), and the flock of carrion birds that are associated with them.

** Even Pidgey, which is said to be mild mannered, can generate winds strong enough to blow a ten-year-old ''into the sky''.

* [[Bleach|Avirama Redder]]

* [[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure|Dio Brando's]] pet falcon Pet Shop is just as sadistic as his master, and even has a Stand (Horus, appropriately enough). He's even capable of flashing a [[Psychotic Smirk]], which even [[Team Pet]] Iggy notes is impossible.

* In ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] [[The Movie]] First'', [[The Phoenix]] [[Monster of the Week]] from the original series was replaced with a more demonic monster bird, with horns protruding from its body, claws on its wings, and a jagged beak with tusk-like extensions. Alas, while more fearsome-looking, [[Curb Stomp Battle|it lasted as long as the phoenix did]].

 

 

* [[The Sandman|Matthew]] is a rare example of a friendly corvid, although the rooks in "A Parliament Of Rooks" are a bit nastier.

* The Sidri in the ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' comic book also fit this variant of the trope.

 

== Fairy Tales ==

** This was, of course, carried over into Stephen Sondheim's ''[[Into the Woods]]''.

 

== Films ==

* ''[[The Birds]]''. Oh, god, ''The Birds''.

* ''[[Resident Evil: Extinction|Resident Evil Extinction]]'' had a whole flock of infected crows attack the convoy at one point.

* One of the monsters in ''[[The Mysterious Island]]'' is a terror bird.

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnNvBucoNSY Birdemic], essentially a [[B-Movie]] version of ''[[The Birds]]''.

* The prison island scene in ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean]] 2''.

* Feathers McGraw the villainous penguin from ''[[Wallace and Gromit|The Wrong Trousers]]''. Definitely type D (the [[Paper-Thin Disguise|rubber glove chicken disguise]] effectively pulls the gag twice).

* Lord Shen, the [[Big Bad]] of [[Kung Fu Panda 2]], is a villainous peacock with the blood of apparently the Panda species on his feathers, making him a Type D.

* [[H.P. Lovecraft]]'s ''At The Mountains Of Madness'' has giant blind [[Evil Albino|albino]] [[Nightmare Retardant|penguins]].

** Whippoorwills often appear in Lovecraft's stories as omens of impending doom. They don't actually do much, but you know something ugly is about to go down when a bunch of whippoorwills decide to perch near your house in [[Lovecraft Country]].

* The later ''[[Animorphs]]'' books have several instances of flocks of homicidal bird-morphed controllers attacking the protagonists.

** And the natural version: Tobias hates crows because they mob hawks. And eagles-a group made Rachel slam into a tree and [[Trauma-Induced Amnesia|lose her memory]]

* The ''Old Kingdom Trilogy'' has flocks of Gore Crows, evil and dangerous in large numbers (especially when in a Paperwing); a flock of crows animated by a single Dead spirit.

* ''[[The War Against the Chtorr]]''. [[Man-Eating Plant|Shambler trees]] are host to over thirty different types of carnivorous tenants that swarm in their thousands when they sense the vibrations of nearby prey.

* The enormous flocks of sparrows of [[Stephen King]]'s ''The Dark Half''. "Evil" might be putting it a bit strong, since their ultimate purpose is to put the main character's [[Evil Twin]] back where he belongs; then again, "creepy" might not do them justice.

* [http://arthursclassicnovels.com/arthurs/howard/pighell10.html Pigeons From Hell]

* The vicious birdlike Shryke race in ''[[The Edge Chronicles]]''.

* In [[Dragaera]], the issola is a sort of crane-like which appears really elegant and graceful, but is also a very competent hunter. This is noted as a metaphor for how the House of Issola has the [[Planet of Hats|hat]] of politeness and grace, but [[Beware the Nice Ones|you shouldn't think they are pushovers]].

* Some of the Dark One's servants in [[Wheel of Time]] can use crows as spies and messengers, and occasionally use huge flocks of crows to attack people. Crows are regularly included in scenes to give the impression that characters are being watched.

* In [[Robert E. Howard]]'s "A Witch Shall Be Born", [[Conan the Barbarian]] is crucified, but the villain carefully explains that the vultures will kill him first.

* In the ''[[Warrior Cats]]'' series, ordinary birds of prey such as hawks, eagles, and owls. [[Justified Trope|Justified]], since they're ''cats'', after all, and the birds are very large to them - large enough to carry off a kit, or, with an eagle at least, a full-grown cat.

* The Pure Ones,St. Aggie's owls and hagsfiends of [[Guarduans Of Ga'Hoole]]

* While ''Walking With Beasts'' focused mostly on prehistoric mammals, the horse-munching ''Gastornis'' in the first episode was one of the scariest animals on the show. Although a bit of [[Badass Decay]] occurs when {{spoiler|its unhatched chick is eaten by giant ants}}. Also of note are the ''Phorusrhacos'' in another episode, though they don't present any real threat to the ''Smilodon'' we're following. Because nothing - except climate change and {{spoiler|the giant ground sloth ''Megatherium''}} - present much threat to a ''Smilodon''.

** ''[[Walking with Dinosaurs]]'' had ''Iberomesornis'' that were portrayed as type B. In spite of their small size they chased off a [[Giant Flyer|giant pterosaur]].

* In the ''[[The Suite Life of Zack and Cody|Suite Life on Deck]]'' episode "Mean Chicks", Cody deprives a seagull of a french fry Zack attempted to feed it, and spends the rest of the episode trying to escape the bird's wrath.

* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "Vincent and the Doctor", a Provençal village is being menaced by what, [[Invisible to Normals|when we finally get a look at it]], appears to be a giant cross between a chicken and a parrot. From outer space.

* The ''[[Tales from the Crypt]]'' episode "Carrion Death" has the protagonist, a con attempting to escape through the desert, being stalked by a hungry vulture who eventually makes a meal out of him... while he's still alive.

* One ''Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy'' from ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' says:

** I think the international symbol for peace should be the pillow. It has as many feathers as a dove but without that vicious beak.

 

 

 

== New Media ==

* [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|The Pack of the Primordial Feather]] in ''[[The Tyrannosaur Chronicles]]''. All its members are coelurosaurs, the fuzzy and feathery dinosaurs that also include birds. (Incidentally, birds are the only coelurosaur lineage who aren’t part of the Pack.)

 

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** Also, the greater daemon of [[The Chessmaster|Tzeentch]] is a [http://kofler.dot.at/40k/units/Tzeentch_Greater_Daemon_Lord_of_Change_3.jpg giant bird monster] called the Lord of Change. Also, while followers of Chaos [[Evil Makes You Monstrous|will invariably start to mutate]], [[Black Crusade|according to some materials]], those who follow Tzeentch specifically tend to develop avian traits ([[Body Horror|emphasis on "tend"]]).

** White has also some [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=129753 hawks] [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=121244 and] [http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=26284 griffins], and when [[Light Is Not Good]] few of them seem very nice...

** In New Phyrexia, [http://magiccards.info/scans/en/mbs/17.jpg the native birds hunt sentience itself].

* In ''[[Gamma World]]'', there are a few including the [[Nobody Here but Us Chickens|Gallus Gallus]], chickens that were being bred for meat, but after the apocalypse the computer breeding them screwed up and now they're sentient and humanoid. There's also the Carrin, cruel psychic vulture people with nasty quills.

* Speaking of nasty bird poeple, the word "[[Yu-Gi-Oh Card Game|Blackwings]]" comes to mind.

** And don't forget the [http://www.bogleech.com/mortasheen/depraven.htm RAPECROW!!!] (Alright, it's called Depraven, but the idea is there).

* ''[[GURPS]] Technomancer'', of course, has the magic-using penguin socialist collective of Antarctica, transformed by a Hellstorm into a vicious hivemind that has driven human scientists from the continent and is building up for the next clash.

** Dynablade may count in that she's a giant bird with sword wings. But she's actually on the good side after Kirby feeds her chicks. She even helps him back later in ''Revenge Of Metaknight''.

* The <s> chickens</s> [[Call a Rabbit a Smeerp|Cuccos]] in ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' games. Strike one down, and you shall be overwhelmed by a force more powerful than you could ever imagine.

* Chocobos in ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' games. There are few enemies nastier than a flock of them.

** The [[Final Fantasy XI|Yagudo]] are one such enemy. I mean honestly, some of them can be called [[Katanas Are Just Better|katana-wielding]] [[Samurai]] [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|birdmen]]. The fact that many Yagudo are religious fanatics doesn't help matters, although they at least have a 'peace' agreement with Windurst (read: give us offerings or we'll overrun the city).

**** In ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'' birds/flying enemies approach [[Demonic Spiders]] territory at times, due to high-damaging skills (the penguin things around Cosmo Canyon early in the game) or the fact that you cannot hit flying enemies without long-range equipment or materia (like the Unknown in the sunken carrier.)

* "[[The Curse of Monkey Island|Madre de Dios!]] [[Nobody Here but Us Chickens|Es el Pollo Diablo!]]"

** Also, the folk legends of unsuspecting (and supposedly quite powerful) feather hunters being killed by ''regular'' chickens, on which the Evil Chicken was based.

* Vulcan Raven's rather disturbing death in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]:'' A flock of his titular birds descend on his body, and when they leave, nothing is left but his weapon.

* Terror Birds in ''[[Tibia]]''.

* Swarms of small flying creatures have been in ''[[Metroid]]'' games ever since the first, althogh they are most prevalent in the 3D installments, where they tend to appear as very large flocks, often flying around in circles in large rooms.

* Although not quite so at first glance, it has been ''strongly'' hinted that the Kig-Yar (or, to humans, 'Jackals') of ''[[Halo]]'' are of avian ancestry. The novels describe them as vicious [[Space Pirates]] and Prophet-employed mercenaries who will do anything for money or spoils of war.

* One of the Dead Apostle Ancestors in ''[[Tsukihime]]'' is half bird, half vampire and has numerous bird minions and a Reality Marble having something to do with black feathers that kill people. Even the [[All of the Other Reindeer|other DAAs]] don't like him.

* Evil birds show up quite frequently in the ''[[Sly Cooper]]'' series. The most prominent is [[Big Bad]] [[Owl Be Damned|Clockwerk]], but the second game also gives us sinister parrot Arpeggio, and the third has an evil chicken (General Tsao) and another nasty parrot, the pirate captain LeFwee.

* The first boss of ''[[Rune Factory: Frontier]]'' is a Type C: a [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever|giant]] [[Everything's Better with Chickens|Clu]][[Call a Rabbit a Smeerp|cky]].

** Spiteful Crow pecked at your eyes!

* Bobo in ''[[Wario Land]]'' 1 is type C (although the latter games show it as closer to a pterodactyl/dragon than any bird), as is the true form (after the first half of the boss battle is won) of Cuckoo Condor in the fourth game.

** Which is really odd when you realize that [[Real Life]] Albatrosses are ''endangered'' and swallows and martins have adapted well with humans.

* The giant two-headed roc from ''[[King's Quest V]]''. Also subverted in that the only way to escape from said bird is with the aid of another bird whose life you saved earlier in the game.

** [[Lampshaded]] by the Left 4 Dead 1 survivors:

{{quote|'''Francis''': I hate birds!

* Malphas, one of the demons summoned by ''[[Bayonetta]]'' for her boss finishers is a giant bird made of hair.

* Inverted in ''[[Angry Birds]]'' where the title birds are the heroes, and they are all very angry because the evil pigs have stolen their eggs.

* The Pidgit Bills and Bullet Birds are the bird-themed adversaries in the ''[[Something]]'' series. The Pidgit Bills get a Mario-seeking variation and the Bullet Birds get an exploding variation.

 

 

== Western Animation ==

* Screweyes, the villain from ''[[We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story]]'', is accompanied by a murder of crows. Which devour him alive at the end of the film.

* The owl in ''[[The Secret of NIMH]]'' is a bit of a subversion. The mouse protagonist is naturally terrified of him and we come to find out that he isn't actually evil, although he's still creepy.

* ''[[A Bug's Life|A Bugs Life]]'' had [[Grotesque Cute]] goldfinches.

** Which, from the point of view of a ''bug'' are probably the equivalent of Godzilla.

* The ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' version of the Penguin had a collection of deadly birds ranging from poison-billed hummingbirds to trained attack-cassowaries.

* Buzz Buzzard from the [[Woody Woodpecker]] cartoons was usually shown as genuinley evil and sinister, as opposed to Woody who was just an obnoxious [[Screwy Squirrel]] type.

* In [[Scooby Doo Mystery Inc]], there is the [[Evil Genius]] parrot, Professor Pericles.

* Laserbeak from ''[[Transformers]]''.

 

== Real Life ==

* [[Swans-a-Swimming|Modern swans]] are already viciously agressive. Imagine facing their [[wikipedia:Giant Swan|giant extinct cousins.]]

* The vampire finch (''Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis'') is known for pecking at other birds and giant tortoises until it draws blood, and then drinking it.

** You know oxpeckers, those cute little birds that perch on animals in Africa and do useful things like eat their hosts' parasites? What they're actually after is blood. They mostly get it from the ticks they eat off their hosts, but sometimes they try to get it from the hosts themselves.

** Also, ''Gastornis'', which filled a similar role somewhat earlier than the terror birds.

* The [[wikipedia:Cassowary#Cassowary attacks|Cassowary]] is the avian equivalent of a pitbull. They've killed people on more than one occasion.

*** [http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/birds-rondeau-park-pod/ On the subject of bird fights...]

* Whether or not they count as birds is up to you, but the predatory [[wikipedia:Dromaeosauridae|dromaeosaurids]] and [[wikipedia:Caenagnathoidea|caenagnathoid oviraptorosaurs]] definitely bore bona fide feathers. Among the dromaeosaurids were ''Deinonychus'' and ''Velociraptor'', but the largest of them was ''[[wikipedia:Utahraptor|Utahraptor]]'', which was ''at least'' the size of a grizzly bear and, based on rumored undescribed remains, may have been even larger. Grizzly-bear sized raptors. That might have hunted in packs. The largest oviraptorid was ''[[wikipedia:Gigantoraptor|Gigantoraptor]]'', which was almost nine meters long and weighed over a ton, comparable to some [[wikipedia:Tyrannosauridae|tyrannosaurids]] like ''Albertosaurus''. It would have been the largest feathered fiend known to science if you only count dinosaurs with pennaceous feathers. If you throw protofeathers into the equation things get [[wikipedia:Therizinosaurus|much]] [[wikipedia:Tyrannosaurus|more]] [[wikipedia:Tianyulong|complicated]].

** They were also very tenacious when defending their nests (which was probably [http://theropoda.blogspot.com/2008/12/big-mama-un-beauty-daddy-varricchio-et.html done by the] [[Papa Wolf|males]], by the way). It appears that they would even try to shield their eggs ''from a sandstorm'', as many oviraptorid fossils are found crouching over their nests.

* An ostrich once nearly killed [[Johnny Cash]] by gutting him with a kick (he was running a farm of them at the time).

* There are stories - unconfirmed - of massive eagles carrying off dogs and even in one case a small child (who survived, was found in the mountains miles from where she disappeared, and is the source of the story).

*** African Crowned Eagles have been known to launch predatory attacks on children (Up to seven years old!). Also, skulls of human infants have been found in African Crowned Eagle nests. This is also the same species of eagle that killed our hominid ancestors as mentioned by the troper above, and because of their fiercesness and fondness for primate meat they are known as the "leopards of the air" by certain African peoples.

* ''[[wikipedia:Argentavis|Argentavis magnificens]]'' is the largest flying bird ever to exist. Its wingspan may have been as much as thirty feet! A bird like that could definitely carry a child off.

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGehBKqot3Y Pelicans.]

[[Category:Tropesaurus Index]]

[[Category:Index of Fictional Creatures]]