Birds started to regularly appear in the Peanuts comic strip in 1961, when Snoopy befriended several birds. They were originally depicted as long thin birds, that looked a little like the later character Woodstock stretched out.
Characters
Several bird characters have been depicted in the strip. Some are named and others are not:
- Politician Birds: These are usually shown debating about "?" or "!"
- Bird Friends: Plenty hang around Snoopy's doghouse
- Game Birds: These birds usually go to Snoopy's house to play card games.
- Mom and Dad Bird: In strips from May 1965 and March 1966, a mom and dad bird built a nest on Snoopy's territory, and hatched eggs. One of the birds that hatched from the egg in March 1966 grew up to be Woodstock.
- Baby Birds: There are usually two hatchlings, and, in one case, the two lost their nests because Snoopy got rid of them, so they flew around, much like Woodstock. One even thought-spoke like Snoopy.
- Bird Hippie: A very minor character that first appeared in the strip from July 12, 1967. The character appeared again in the strip from November 1, 1967. In the strip from the previous day, Linus mistakes rustling sounds made by the bird for the Great Pumpkin. It is interesting to note that Woodstock resembles this bird greatly, with the exception of the long hair and peace necklace. Another point of interest is that Woodstock was named after the music festival of the same name, which was widely associated with the hippie culture. Whether there is any connection between this fact and the bird hippie (or vice versa) is unknown.
- Woodstock: He was first depicted as one of the baby birds from the Mom in a 1966 storyline. Woodstock becomes a recurring character after that.