Fowl play: Cuccos, the most dangerous creatures in Hyrule

Beware: Read no further unless you want to be frightened within half a heart of your life meter.

This is an article about the most dangerous, most terrifying creature in all of Hyrule.

The Hinox? Of course not. The Lynel? Not even. Calamity Ganon? Pfft.

I speak, of course, of the Cucco.

If Hyrule had a national bird, it would most likely be the Cucco. Yes, the Loftwing has been included as part of the Hylian crest, but every seasoned Zelda player knows that it is the Cucco that is the king of all Hyrule’s birds.

Since its introduction in A Link to the Past, the Cucco has been a nuisance, a source of entertainment, a means of flight, and a particularly dangerous battle chicken.

This unassuming little fowl looks harmless enough, but if you strike at one of the other members of its flock, the bird will display an unmatched thirst for revenge, and Hylia help the hero whose heart meter isn’t sufficiently full.

The Cucco is generally found in Kakariko Village, perhaps a nod to the village’s name; “Kakariko” does sound a lot like “cocorico,” a rooster’s crow. It would seem that the Cuccos are among the many things that Kakariko Village is known for, besides Swift Carrots, Fortified Pumpkins, and ample plot exposition.

The plumage varies in appearance, depending on the game and the timeline.

Herewith, a (mostly) scientific discussion of the Zelda games’ favorite murder chickens.

The Cucco, Gallus gallus hyruliensis (all right, I made that up) made its first appearance in A Link to the Past. It looked like your basic, everyday barnyard fowl, pecking away at bugs around Kakariko Village.

Perfectly harmless — as long as you left them alone.

Now, the more sadistic Zelda players take great delight in repeatedly whacking away at the poor bird with a sword. Let’s be frank: not all Zelda players are gentle souls who wouldn’t hurt a fly. And the game, as if to say, “All right, you asked for it,” causes a flock of Cuccos to flutter in and avenge their comrade. Link will take some damage from the birds, and if he is sufficiently low on hearts, the Cucco attack will prove to be a fatal one.

A subtle object lesson on the need to be kind to animals♣, and a cautionary tale on what happens to those who practice wanton cruelty to animals? We can surmise.

It was in Ocarina of Time that the Cucco began to develop its reputation as a rather annoying escape artist. Or, quite literally, fly the coop. Anju pleads to Link to round up her missing fowl, thus sending the Hero of Time off on a wild goose — er, chicken — chase around Kakariko Village. The reward? One of the most valuable inventory items in all Zelda games prior to Breath of the Wild: a glass bottle for storing Potions, Fairies, and other important consumables.

It is also in this game that we learn that the Cucco is capable of carrying a human — or, at least, a Link-sized Hylian — a short distance. Therefore, the birds are able to earn their keep by serving as a method of flight. Whether the Cuccos actually enjoy being used as a mode of aerial transportation is another matter entirely. (Deku Leaves, Paragliders, and Revali’s Gale have proven to be much more reliable.)

The Wind Waker did not feature Cuccos in their usual role of barnyard avengers, however, Windfall Island is home to some cute little spotted pigs — but hit them often enough with a sword, and those cute little porkers will quickly become deadly.

Twilight Princess and The Minish Cap saw the arrival of the Gold Cucco: a Cucco that is even stronger and faster than all regular Cuccos.

This bird can be an ally, as is shown during Link’s travels in Faron Woods, but it can also be deadly.

The Hyrule Warriors games took the role of the Cucco yet another step further, as we saw the Cuccos become an army of mighty battle chickens. If you attack one Cucco, it will receive reinforcements. Lots and lots of reinforcements. And these pugnacious pullets can quickly drain the life meter on even the heartiest of fighters.  

The Gold Cucco appeared again in Hyrule Warriors, along with the Silver Cucco, and was the focus of a side quest to return a lost chick to its mother. But as in the mainline Zelda games, the Gold Cucco could be a deadly foe as well as a useful ally. Hyrule Warriors Legends took the Gold Cucco’s role a step further by featuring the birds as Linkle’s own unique allies in battle.

But there is more. Through many trials and much suffering, you can eventually unlock the Giant Cucco as a playable warrior.

The Cuccos were back in Breath of the Wild, and it is in that game that we see a reprise of the Cucco minigame in Ocarina of Time, with Cado taking the place of Anju.

Over the course of Link’s explorations of the village, we learn that Cado the guard took to keeping Cuccos, and his devotion to the birds was enough that his wife got fed up with him and left. Doubtless, the other villagers probably secretly thought he was a bit nutty.

These Cuccos, as with their predecessors in Ocarina of Time, tend to be escape artists, as Link has to round them up after they escape from Cado’s yard. Unfortunately, the recapture efforts appear to be in vain, because even after Link successfully completes this side quest, the birds will inevitably be found at large the next time Link comes to the village.

While the Cucco’s tendency toward vengeful violence has been a constant in Zelda games, the bird’s appearance has differed slightly over the years.

Starting in A Link to the Past, the Cucco mostly resembled a run-of-the-mill barnyard chicken: possibly a Leghorn, an Ixworth, or a Bresse, judging from its white plumage and red comb and wattle.

In Breath of the Wild, however, the Cuccos took on a more elaborate appearance, sporting terra cotta and turquoise markings against mostly white plumage.

This incarnation of the Cucco appears to bear a resemblance to two real-life varieties of chicken. One is the Chabo: a variety of bantam chicken native to Japan. The other is the Old English Game Hen. It seems that the latter breed has a tendency for flying the coop, much like the Cuccos. Furthermore, the Old English Game Hen’s aggressive temperament made it a preferred chicken for use in cockfighting in England, before that cruel sport was banned in the 19th century.

We can only guess at what sort of appearance the Cucco will make in Breath of the Wild 2. But it is reasonable for us as Zelda fans to hope that the infamous birds will make a return, either as deceptively harmless fowl in Kakariko Village or as something even scarier.

A giant Malice Cucco, perhaps? Or perhaps maybe as a Divine Beast Vah Cucco?

No, maybe that would be too scary.