Is big bird a muppet?

As Caroll Spinney has aged, new performers have been trained to play Big Bird. Matt Vogel has been Spinney's primary understudy for over 20 years, doubling as Big Bird for live appearances and in occasional Sesame Street segments. read more

Big Bird also appeared in cameo roles in the films The Muppet Movie and The Muppets Take Manhattan and the television special A Muppet Family Christmas, and as a guest on The Muppet Show episode 318, plus a variety of outside TV appearances. read more

A portrait of Big Bird also appeared in the pilot The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence. Big Bird also made brief appearances in The Muppet Movie and The Muppets Take Manhattan. He appeared in A Muppet Family Christmas holiday special, in which he dissuades the Swedish Chef from cooking him for Christmas dinner by offering him a gift of homemade chocolate covered birdseed. read more