The Mushroom Kingdom from the Super Mario Bros. series has housed some of the most creative array of characters that we've seen in video games the past few decades. Unlike the human protagonists Mario and Luigi, the Mushroom Kingdom is home to many non-human characters. The duo have battled countless creatures from Shy Guys to Goombas and Thwomps to Boos. Despite having seen so many different creatures across the Mushroom Kingdom, no creature has been more strange than that of Birdo.

Originally appearing in Super Mario Bros. 2 on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Birdo has been somewhat of a mystery as far as Mario characters go. It is somewhat difficult to really gauge what Birdo is and how she falls into the Mario universe, along with her ambiguous nature. While Birdo has appeared in numerous Mario games throughout the past few decades and isn't likely to disappear any time soon, there is still plenty about the creature that is left unknown. Birdo's own past is seemingly muddled throughout the Mario franchise and her ambiguous nature and design make her one of the more... disturbing characters we've seen in the Mushroom Kingdom, yet she has still managed to become a well known staple of the series. Here are some interesting things you may not know about the strange creature we've come to know as Birdo.

15 Man, I Feel Like A Woman

This is probably a somewhat known fact by a decent amount of the Super Mario Bros. fanbase. In the original Super Mario Bros. 2 or Doki Doki Panic in Japan, Birdo was actually created to be a male. The instruction manual for Super Mario Bros. 2 actually lists Birdo as a character who thinks of herself as a girl despite actually being a boy physically. This is a fact that may go unnoticed by many fans of the series as most people likely just assumed Birdo was a female due to her pink color and wearing a bow. In later Super Mario Bros. games and spinoffs, she was later stated to be a female character. Because of this swap by Nintendo, Birdo is known as the first official transgender video game character ever.

14 Just A Figment Of The Imagination

Birdo has become a reoccurring character throughout the Super Mario Bros. series and despite not making many appearances in other side scrolling Mario games similar to that of her Super Mario Bros. 2 debut, she still makes her way into a number of spinoffs. Interestingly enough, Birdo may have never been intended to be a real creature in Mario's universe in the first place. Those who have beaten Super Mario Bros. 2 were probably surprised to discover that the entire adventure was simply a dream concocted in a sleeping Mario's imagination. Because of this, and the fact that Super Mario Bros. 2 does not technically take place in the Mushroom Kingdom, it means that Birdo was actually originally just a figment of Mario's imagination.

13 Voice Acting Okama

Most gamers probably are unaware that Super Mario Bros. 2 actually received a direct sequel in Japan titled BS Super Mario USA for the Satellaview, which was an add on for the Super Famicom. Birdo makes an encore appearance in the game's sequel serving under the lead antagonist Wart's rule once again with her other Birdo friends. This is the first time that Birdo was actually given a voice actor in the franchise. While later installments typically had Birdo voiced by female voice actors, Nintendo had a bit of fun when casting the sequel's Birdo. Birdo and all her friends were actually voiced by "okama" which is a term used in Japan for men that dress and act like females. This helped to make the ambiguous nature of Birdo's gender identity even more confusing.

12 Birdo has Different Powers

Birdo may not necessarily be a powerhouse against Mario compared to other villains in the franchise, but that doesn't stop Birdo from holding a variety of attacks. Birdos as a species actually come in a variety of colors: mainly pink, green, and red. While the Birdo that we've come to know over the years has always been the egg-shooting pink creature that we've somehow grown to love, other Birdos exist and have different abilities. A pink Birdo is able to only shoot eggs from her snout-like mouth. A green Birdo actually doesn't have this power and actually shoots fireballs. A red Birdo, however, can actually shoot eggs and fireballs, making it to likely be the strongest Birdo of the species.

11 Call Me Birdetta

Birdo has suffered from somewhat of an identity crisis over the years, whether that is the fault of her creators or her own personal internal struggle. Despite actually being a boy upon her creation, starting from her original appearance on Super Mario Bros. 2, she has always wished to be called something other than "Birdo." In Super Mario Bros. 2 and other titles, it is stated that Birdo actually prefers to be called "Birdetta," a more feminine name. Birdetta, however, is not the only time she has wished to be called something different. In Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, Birdo actually tells Mario and Luigi to call her Birdie rather than the aforementioned Birdetta.

10 She Is Hyper-Flirtatious

Birdo is one of the more... interesting creatures we've come across in the Super Mario Bros. universe, and strangely enough, she is probably the most flirtatious. While Super Mario Bros. typically doesn't dip into the topic of intimacy, Birdo is the one character who is the exception, as she is frequently seen making flirtatious gestures such as winking at her opponents or what she calls "speaking the language of love." In Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, Birdo is seen being more affectionate to the character Popple, much to his dislike. Despite his wishes, Birdo still displays unwanted affection to him by calling him "darling," which eventually became a staple of her personality.

9 She's Produced Some Of The Most Disturbing Cosplay

Kudos to the person who was able to create a cosplay of Birdo that only our darkest nightmares could handle. There is no shortage of characters from the Mario games to cosplay as, yet some of the more interesting creatures are more difficult to do so. While this particular cosplay is done pretty well, it is one of the most disturbing portrayals of a video game character I've ever seen.Despite her somewhat cute exterior, Birdo still has a somewhat disturbing design, due to her snout like mouth that hurls eggs at people, yet when you make her image very adult by dressing her up in a latex maid's costume and collar, I say that's crossing the line. Whoever wears this costume has got to be in to some pretty kinky s***!

8 Birdo's Relation To Kirby

While Birdo has mostly made appearances only in the Super Mario Bros. franchise, one particular instance has her making a small cameo in Kirby Super Star Ultra. In the game "Megaton Punch," Birdo is seen as a spectator in the crowd among Mario, Luigi, and Toad.While not canon, there is actually a fan-made theory that has made its way across the web stating that Birdo and Yoshi are actually the parents of Kirby. This is due to Kirby having abilities similar to both Birdo and Yoshi, such as shooting things out of his mouth or assimilating abilities of enemies he has swallowed, respectively. Even though it is just a theory, it would explain Birdo's presence in the crowd supporting her son.

7 Birdo Totally Sucks

Literally, not figuratively, of course. While most people are familiar with Birdo's ability to shoot eggs out of her snout, most people don't realize that Birdo also has the ability to use her mouth as a vacuum of sort (another relationship to Kirby). While only seen shooting eggs from her mouth in Super Mario Bros. 2, other games have depicted her using her mouth to suck things up. This power has been seen in Mario Superstar Baseball and Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga. In Superstar Saga, Birdo actually uses her snout to suck Mario and Luigi up and can steal their health when she does so.

6 Villain Gone Good

Even though Birdo was originally conceived as a villain in the Super Mario Bros. series, later appearances by her generally showed her as one of the good guys in the Mushroom Kingdom. Considering her initial appearance was technically part of Mario's imagination, this shouldn't be too surprising as her next appearance in Wario's Woods depicted her as good helping Toad out. She has still played a role as a boss in games such as Super Mario RPG: Legend of The Seven Stars and Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, but usually to a more comical effect. This is why we typically see her teaming up with Yoshi in games such as Mario Tennis and Mario Kart: Double Dash!! rather than with other villains. Turns out she's not so bad in the grand scheme of things.

5 Bird Is Not The Word

We have already established that Birdo has gone buy a few different names, preferring either the title of "Birdetta" or "Birdie" in different games as Birdo sees herself as a female. Yet in Japan, Birdo's name is completely different altogether, completely dumping the "Bird" title. In Japan, she actually goes by the name Catherine, a more human name than most of the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom. While Catherine may seem like a normal name, it is definitely quite unique toward this particular species in the Mario universe. It kind of makes you wonder due to her flirtatious nature if she has an relation to the main antagonist in the game Catherine. I would totally play a puzzle platformer in the same style as Catherine starring Birdo herself!

4 Maybe She'll Get DLC

Birdo has made appearances in most of the spinoffs in the Mario universe, but it seems that she ultimately got shafted in Mario Kart's latest installment Mario Kart 8. While being a title that could have easily added her in the initial roster or as DLC, it's surprising that she didn't make the cut after having appeared in previous Mario Kart titles. Strangely enough, she still makes a cameo in the latest Mario Kart title on a billboard that would most likely be missed by most players as they are zipping across the different tracks. A couple billboards read "Women of Racing Organization," and one features Birdo alongside Princess Peach and Princess Daisy. It's great to see the Mushroom Kingdom as the progressive kingdom that it is!

3 Birdo And Yoshi Are A Thing

It's kind of hard to believe after the instant success and popularity of Yoshi that Birdo was actually conceived before him... yet at some point in these two character's timelines, Nintendo thought it would be a good idea for them to become an item. It seems like a natural pairing due to Yoshi being a dinosaur and Birdo being... well, something that somewhat resembles a dinosaur. Yet ever since Mario Tennis, Birdo has been teaming up with Yoshi on everything from the courts to the race tracks. On the title screen of Mario Tennis, Birdo and Yoshi are seen being affectionate toward one another. On the Japanese website for Mario Kart Double Dash!! Birdo's description states that she appears to be Yoshi's girlfriend, but is actually his boyfriend, in relation to her ambiguous gender. Maybe one day, we'll get a Yoshi game where he's trying to save a "damsel in distress" Birdo rather than lugging around Baby Mario.

2 Birdo's Secret Child

While I certainly would never endorse The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! as canon, it is hard to completely ignore Birdo's appearance, or at least one of the Birdos from the Birdo species on the show. Birdo appeared in a few episodes of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, yet her most noticeable appearance is when she actually mistakes Toad as her son. A Birdo who suffers from being nearsighted thinks that Toad is actually her child and kidnaps him in the process, leaving Mario and Luigi to save a terrified Toad. It is definitely a different take on the character as she was more of a traditional villain in Super Mario Bros. 2 yet in Super Show! she is more of just a clumsy and negligent parent. At least it solves the mystery as to whether or not Birdo can birth children.

1 So... Where Do Babies Come From Again?

There certainly is a lot of confusion in the relationship between Yoshi and Birdo, especially in regards to their personal lives. Birdo's gender has always been a little ambiguous, originally being labeled as a boy who thinks he's a girl, later being labeled simply as a girl, and eventually Japanese descriptions labeling Birdo as Yoshi's "boyfriend." They're not even a part of the same species technically, so it's kind of hard to tell if reproducing is even possible... yet interestingly enough, their roles are kind of reversed, assuming Birdo is the female in the relationship and Yoshi is the male. While Birdo can only spit eggs from her mouth, she doesn't actually lay them. Meanwhile, Yoshi has no problem laying eggs on a routine basis. Maybe at some point, Nintendo will have the two reproduce and we'll see what the love child of the two actually looks like.