#birderherder

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Birder

Debut: Shovel Knight

Have you hearder of Birder? I like it more than murder! Birder is quite a fascinating creature, and makes quite an impression from its first minor appearance alone! Let’s look at it!

In the first three campaigns, Birders are nearly exclusive to the Lost City area, which takes place deep underground where lava and slime flow. Why are they there? I don’t know, but from the first time you see it, it is clear this is not just any enemy! They are rapidly flashing like they’re pulsing with energy, they are constantly bounding around the room, and though they may be small, they have more health than most standard enemies!

One thing I love about Birder’s design, and which I hope was intentional, is that its shape really brings to mind a badminton birdie. It’s a great shape. A great object! More sports should use weird little doodads instead of basic balls!

Birder’s official art, for whatever reason, looks like this. This does not really look like Birder... but I don’t mind! I love it! It is so funny! It looks like someone had a napkin with a Birder-like pattern on it, thought “this reminds me of Birder”, folded it into a Birder shape, and drew eyes on it. It is so delightful!

Though they may look like beings of pure energy, Birders are no doubt Animals, and perfect Animals at that. As we can see with the adorably named Ambirder, some live Birders have been preserved in slime, suggesting they have not needed to change much at all in a very long time! I guess it makes sense for a species dwelling within the depths of the earth, undisturbed for centuries...

...except, that is not actually the case! Birders flock in the mountainous Birder Bluffs, which may be their breeding grounds, considering this is where we see their eggs. And look at those eggs! Spherical and translucent! These are truly no ordinary birds, though no less biological! I guess Birders are perfectly adapted not just to the bowels (heehee!) of the earth, but also to the tops of mountains... they are SO good at surviving! Birders deserve a lot of respect, and it is clear some people respected them a great deal in the past, enough to carve out their image on the Birder Blocks seen in the bottom portion of the image.

Also, behold Birder Bearer! Birders who bear platforms... who are those for? Have these Birders survived, with platforms, since the previous civilization inhabited these bluffs? Maybe they use the platforms themselves, perhaps to bring eggs or hatchlings back to the underground? This may be the first documented case of Birder tool use...!

It is clear the developers love Birder a whole lot, making it not only one of the “main” enemies of the game, but also actually story-important! There will be spoilers for Shovel Knight: King of Cards under the cut, but if you have played it or don’t mind spoilers, please join me in discussing my favorite of all Birder-related things!

This is KING BIRDER! The king of the Birders! You can tell by his name, and his demeanor, and his entire body that he has. King Birder is Evil, he is Wicked, he is an all around Bad Guy. But wait! I said this was my favorite Birder-related thing! What is the catch?

It was all a ruse! King Birder is no king at all, but a normal Birder, bewitched and puppeteered into doing a villain’s bidding! And after his defeat, the illusion is revealed, and Birder goes back to bouncing around, but now with a voice of his own as a side effect of his controlling! Birder (character) is absolutely delightful! He immediately greets others as new friends, and is quick to help by offering information he’s overheard!

He is even Holdable! You could hold him!

Birder dedicates himself to fighting for all those without a voice, having known firsthand what it was like... how is he so perfect? How is this bird real?

I hope I’ve made you into a #BirderHerder after this post! That’s our fan name! That’s us! Spread it on social media if you want! But I’m not going to make any effort to spread it myself!

#birder #shovel knight #king birder #shovel knight enemies #shovel knight characters #not mario #funky friday #mod chikako #ok maybe just one #birderherder