8: The Most Famous Birds in History—Seven Legendary Birds

There are many unsung bird heroes throughout history. There was the dove that Randy Johnson struck with a fastball. Or the bird that pooped on your dad during a family vacation. #memories

Unlike these nameless legends, other birds have withstood the test of time and are in our history books (ok, probably only our history books, but they're still well-known). Meet seven famous birds from throughout history. We'll give you their full backstories, introduce the supporting (mostly human) counterparts that helped them rise to fame, and provide fun anecdotes about their famous antics so you can marvel in their birdy brilliance.

Got a favorite famous bird we missed? Email us at hellobirdshit@gmail.com or find us on Instagram @birdshitpodcast and share it with us!

BIRD SHIT WE DISCUSSED
USEFUL RESOURCES (about the famous birds in this episode)

The birds from “The Birds”

• Short clip showing why The Birds is so scary (you should go watch the whole thing if you haven’t seen it, unless you don’t want to be scared of birds)
• Jimmy Stewart = LOVE

Jimmy the Raven

• Lots of info about Jimmy the Raven
• Turns our Stewart Little had a Roadster, but there was that creepy “The Mouse and the Motorcycle” movie from the 1980s. 

Alex the Gray Parrot

• A touching feature on Irene and Alex the Gray Parrot (by Neil deGrasse Tyson!)
• ALEX WAS SO SMART YOU GUYS.
• Help save parrots from being illegally traded.

Pierre the Penguin

• Pierre the Penguin in his wetsuit
• Chicken capes, in case you need one…

Dick the Mockingbird

• Thomas Jefferson and his mockingbirds
• Other presidential pets
• The mockingbird song from “Dumb and Dumber”

Rufus the Hawk

• Meet Rufus the Hawk (and his handler, Imogen Davis)
• Great feature on Rufus the Hawk (this bird is super famous, guys.)
• Rufus the Hawk’s Twitter handle…sexy profile pic or nah?)

Gertie the Duck

• Photos and backstory on how Gertie became so famous: straight from the Milwaukee Journal (Sentinel) itself. 
• Buy