Birdie the Early Bird was the first identifiably female character used in McDonald's commercials, introduced in 1980 to promote the company's new breakfast items. She is a brown bird wearing a pink jumpsuit, flight cap and scarf. In the ads she is frequently portrayed as a poor beggar, and somewhat clumsy in general. Birdie is voiced by Russi Taylor and portrayed by Patti Maloney in the McDonald's TV commercials; she is voiced by Christine Cavanaugh in the video tape series The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald.