| “ | Fluorescent with internal luminescence, this "bird" flies in an unpredictable pattern. Indigenous to the Birder Bluffs. | ” |
— Compendium entry, Shovel Knight Dig | ||
Birders are minor enemies in Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove, Shovel Knight Dig and the Paradox Pack DLC of Pocket Dungeon. They appear as flashing blue bird heads that only fly around diagonally. They are native to the Birder Bluffs but often migrate to warmer regions.
A rare variant of the Birder is the Birder Bearer.
Story[]
Treasure Trove[]
Birders are mostly found in the Lost City, sometimes also found stuck in Slime Block variants named Ambirders, or herded by Hoppicles (known in this case as Birder Herders). They nest in the King's Roost in the Birder Bluffs, which has ruins themed after them, as well as a smaller nest above the Mirror chamber in the Tower of Fate hub. These eggs are shown to be noticeably different from regular bird eggs, being instead spherical and bouncy much like fish eggs. Specter Knight can juggle around with one of their spherical purple eggs and have the nearby Memmec play with them.
In King of Cards, after boarding the Glidewing above the Birder Kingdom, a flock of Birders appear by the ship's window. Their scream scares off King Pridemoor into Mom's arms. According to an Old Lady in the Crag of Joustus, their presence in the Bluffs has been increasing since her youth. She also has no recollection of the Birders' supposed king. Their king later turns out to be just a simple Birder enchanted by the the Enchantress. It is also the only known Birder known to be able to talk, thanks to the dark ruler's lingering magic.
Pocket Dungeon[]
When throwing Spinwulves around with Polar Knight's Refract Ability in the Camp, a Birder can appear, holding a sign with a heart instead of a score.
Behavior and Tactics[]
Treasure Trove[]
In Treasure Trove, Birders float around stages diagonally (except for the ones in the Mysterious Area, which move back and forth at varying speeds instead). They bounce off of floors, walls, ceilings, platforms and obstacles as well as the screen's borders. They cannot attack outside of simply colliding with their foes. They are found in the Lost City, the Mysterious Area, and the Forest of Phasing. They also appear in the King's Roost stage of King of Cards.
In both Specter of Torment and King of Cards, Birders can be released from Ambirder blocks or by defeating their Birder Herder. In the King's Roost, they also spawn from bas-relief shaped like Birders.
Birders are one of the toughest enemies boasting an impressive 
(4) health points, aside from the ones in the Turbo Tunnel section of the Mysterious Area which only have 
(1) health point. When defeated, Birders drop a worth {{Treasure}|10}}. They deal 
1 damage point on contact.
Like most enemies, Birders are instantly destroyed by the War Horn or the Dread Talon, which may be worth their high magic/darkness cost, particularly since they often appear in groups. Without using Relics, the best way to defeat them is to Shovel Drop/Dash Slash them; when they are hit they stay in place briefly and with good timing and aim it's possible to freeze them in place for the entire four hits. Plague Knight can do the same with repeated use of his Staff of Striking.
In King of Cards, King Knight can use a Decree of Soaring to summon a friendly Birder to ride, in order to bypass certain obstacles. In Showdown, said Eggs can spawn during matches and be used as a power-up items to hatch friendly Birders dealing damages by colliding foes.
Shovel Knight Dig[]
In Shovel Knight Dig, Birders behave the same as in Treasure Trove, and the best tactics to defeat them stay the same. They have 
(4) health points and deal 1 damage point on contact. They appear in both the Smeltworks and Magic Landfill in specific stage layouts. They reward 
20 gold when defeated.
Variants[]
Red Birder[]
In the Shovel Knight challenge Birder Herder, three Red Birders are present. They are identical to the standard blue Birders but are functionally invincible, having well in excess of one hundred hit points. It is technically possible to kill two of them by Shovel Dropping underneath a low ceiling during the Challenge but doing so takes nearly the entire time limit, making it impossible to also finish afterwards. Like normal Birders, they drop a green gem.
Rainbow Birder[]
Rainbow Birders are projections of King Birder's real body as a rainbow-flashing Birder. During his battle, King Birder can sometimes summon them to aid him. They behave exactly the same as a regular blue Birder but only have one hit point.
Team Birder[]
When a player picks up a Birder Egg in Showdown, a Birder with the same colors as that player's team will be spawned. These Birders behave exactly like the standard ones but will not damage players on the same team as them. They can also damage each other if they're on opposing teams. After a certain amount of time, they will start shaking and then disappear.
Joustus Card[]
One of the Joustus cards in King of Cards is a Birder card which has 2 Double Arrows: one facing up and the other one left. It's also a Complete Switch card, which means the arrows will change positions from up and left to down and right respectively after being pushed.
Trivia[]
- Curiously, Birders have a Steam emoticon, making them the only enemy and only non-character to have one.
- Birders make an appearance in the portion of the Battletoads boss fight where they will actually move back and forth on the road and can be hard to avoid, as they fly at various speeds.
- The Birder portrait has been present in the game's files since the release of Specter of Torment.
Gallery[]
Treasure Trove[]
Pocket Dungeon[]
