Which McDonald's character was added to the McDonaldland cast in 1980 as a female bird?

Birdie the Early Bird was added to the McDonaldland cast in 1980 as a female bird.

Birdie was created to promote McDonald's breakfast menu and was commonly shown wearing a yellow flight suit and aviator-style accessories. Her character connected the expanding breakfast business with the colorful world of McDonaldland.

The “Early Bird” name referred directly to breakfast and helped distinguish Birdie from the characters associated with hamburgers, fries, and desserts. She joined an established cast that already included Ronald McDonald, Grimace, the Hamburglar, and Mayor McCheese.

Birdie is sometimes confused with unrelated bird characters from other children's advertising campaigns. Her defining branding role was McDonald's breakfast promotion. The 1980 introduction also shows how McDonaldland characters were used to give individual menu categories their own recognizable personalities.