Animal Crossing is a popular life simulation video game series developed and published by Nintendo. In these games, the player lives in a village inhabited by various anthropomorphic animals, carrying out various activities like fishing, catching insects, and decorating their home.
One of the most beloved groups of villagers in the Animal Crossing series are the birds. Since the first Animal Crossing game on the Nintendo 64, bird villagers have made up a significant portion of the potential animal neighbors the player can have in their town.
But just how many different bird villagers are there in the Animal Crossing series? In this article, we will take a comprehensive look at all of the different bird villagers that have appeared in the mainline Animal Crossing games over the years to get an answer.
Bird Villagers in Animal Crossing (N64/GameCube)
The original Animal Crossing game for the Nintendo 64 (and later ported to the Nintendo GameCube) introduced many of the bird villagers that have become staples of the series.
Here are the bird villagers that first appeared in the original Animal Crossing game:
- Piper
- Robin
- Jay
- Jitters
- Midge
- Jacob
- Sparro
- Twiggy
- Peck
- Celia
So in total, the original Animal Crossing game featured 10 different bird villagers that players could have living in their village.
Bird Villagers Added in Animal Crossing: Wild World
Animal Crossing: Wild World was the next main installment in the Animal Crossing series, released for the Nintendo DS in 2005.
Wild World added the following new bird villagers to the series:
- Penelope
- Piper
- Anchovy
- Amelia
- Goose
- Buzz
- Ostrich
- Sprocket
So Wild World introduced 8 more bird villagers that players could meet for the first time.
Bird Villagers Added in Animal Crossing: City Folk
Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii, released in 2008, did not add too many new villagers to the series. Only two new bird villagers made their debut in City Folk:
- Hamphrey
- Admiral
So the total number of potential bird neighbor companions grew by just two for this installment.
Bird Villagers Added in Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Animal Crossing: New Leaf for the Nintendo 3DS saw a big influx of new villagers get introduced to the series. Here are the new bird villagers that New Leaf brought to the table:
- Vesta
- Derwin
- Anabelle
- Willow
- Phoebe
- Piper
- Nadia
- Gladys
- Filbert
- Cranston
- Sterling
- Peewee
- Maelle
- Lucha
- Ken
- Jacob
- Boots
- Anchovy
- Hawk
- Ostrich
New Leaf added a whopping 20 new bird villagers for players to meet!
Bird Villagers Added in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Animal Crossing: New Horizons for the Nintendo Switch is the latest main installment in the franchise. A handful of new bird villagers made their debut in New Horizons:
- Julia
- Shinobu
- Ione
- Petri
- Quinn
- Cephalobot
- Picke
So New Horizons introduced 7 new bird villagers to the Animal Crossing world.
The Total Number of Bird Villagers
If we tally up all of the bird villagers across the five main Animal Crossing games, we get a total of:
- 10 bird villagers from the original Animal Crossing
- 8 additional bird villagers from Wild World
- 2 additional bird villagers from City Folk
- 20 additional bird villagers from New Leaf
- 7 additional bird villagers from New Horizons
Doing the math, that brings the total number of unique bird villagers in the Animal Crossing series so far to 47!
List of All Bird Villagers
For reference, here is the complete list of the 47 bird villagers that have appeared in the mainline Animal Crossing games:
Bird Villager | First Appearance |
---|---|
Piper | Animal Crossing (GCN) |
Robin | Animal Crossing (GCN) |
Jay | Animal Crossing (GCN) |
Jitters | Animal Crossing (GCN) |
Midge | Animal Crossing (GCN) |
Jacob | Animal Crossing (GCN) |
Sparro | Animal Crossing (GCN) |
Twiggy | Animal Crossing (GCN) |
Peck | Animal Crossing (GCN) |
Celia | Animal Crossing (GCN) |
Penelope | Animal Crossing: Wild World |
Piper | Animal Crossing: Wild World |
Anchovy | Animal Crossing: Wild World |
Amelia | Animal Crossing: Wild World |
Goose | Animal Crossing: Wild World |
Buzz | Animal Crossing: Wild World |
Ostrich | Animal Crossing: Wild World |
Sprocket | Animal Crossing: Wild World |
Hamphrey | Animal Crossing: City Folk |
Admiral | Animal Crossing: City Folk |
Vesta | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Derwin | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Anabelle | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Willow | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Phoebe | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Piper | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Nadia | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Gladys | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Filbert | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Cranston | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Sterling | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Peewee | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Maelle | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Lucha | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Ken | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Jacob | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Boots | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Anchovy | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Hawk | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Ostrich | Animal Crossing: New Leaf |
Julia | Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
Shinobu | Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
Ione | Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
Petri | Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
Quinn | Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
Cephalobot | Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
Picke | Animal Crossing: New Horizons |
The Most Popular Bird Villagers
While there are 47 total bird villagers that have appeared in the Animal Crossing games, some of them are more popular and sought-after than others.
Here are some of the most popular bird villagers that players love to have in their towns:
- Phoebe – A phoenix who has appeared in every Animal Crossing game since Wild World. Her fiery appearance makes her stand out.
- Jacob – A laidback and friendly bird who enjoys the outdoors. He has been around since the original Animal Crossing.
- Julian – A unicorn-inspired villager who is smug yet charming. He was introduced in New Leaf.
- Ankha – An Egyptian queen-inspired snooty villager who first showed up in City Folk.
- Coco – A unique bunny made of clay, Coco has an eerie design that many find intriguing. She also debuted in Wild World.
- Marshal – This smug squirrel with his deadpan eyes became an instant fan favorite when introduced in New Leaf.
While everyone has their own dream villagers, these tend to be some of the most sought-after and popular bird types that players happily welcome into their towns in the Animal Crossing series.
Rarest Bird Villagers
On the other end of the spectrum, some bird villagers are much rarer to encounter in the Animal Crossing games. Let’s look at some of the rarest bird villagers that don’t appear as often:
- Lucha – This colorful wrestling-loving bird has only appeared in New Leaf since his debut.
- Jacob – While beloved, Jacob has only been featured in the first two Animal Crossing games and Pocket Camp.
- Goose – Goose is a unique chicken villager who hasn’t been seen much since Wild World.
- Ostrich – As her name suggests, Ostrich has an ostrich-like appearance and is fairly rare.
- Sprocket – Sprocket is a robot ostrich who hasn’t made many major appearances since his Wild World debut.
These are some of the hardest bird villagers to find living on your island. But for collectors looking to invite rare villagers, tracking down these unique birds can be highly rewarding!
Conclusion
The Animal Crossing franchise has featured dozens of bird villager types over its many installments, each with their own unique designs and personalities that give them charm. There have been 47 total bird villagers that have appeared across the five mainline games in the series.
Some birds like Phoebe and Ankha are hugely popular for their stand-out designs and appealing traits. Others like Lucha and Goose are harder to find but make exciting rare additions to an island. Whatever their temperament, bird villagers continue to be beloved for the diversity and color they bring to the lives of players in their Animal Crossing worlds.
With each new Animal Crossing game, more bird villagers get introduced and become favorites among fans. It will be exciting to see what new feathered friends get added in whatever future installments Nintendo releases in this classic cozy life sim series.