Which McDonald’s mascot was created for the 1980 advertising campaign promoting breakfast?

Birdie the Early Bird was the McDonald’s mascot created for the company’s 1980 advertising campaign promoting breakfast.

Birdie was introduced as McDonald’s first female character and was designed to support the growing importance of the chain’s breakfast menu. Her name directly connected the character to the idea of getting up early, while her bright yellow appearance made her easy to recognize in television advertising and restaurant promotions.

The character joined the broader McDonaldland cast, which already included Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar, Grimace, and Mayor McCheese. Birdie’s role was more specifically tied to breakfast than to the general hamburger-centered stories used by several earlier mascots.

Birdie is sometimes confused with later breakfast promotions or with generic bird characters used in other food advertising. Her defining historical detail is her 1980 introduction as McDonald’s breakfast mascot.