So ironic to see this thread... A couple years ago, Big Bird's gender was the subject of great debate at an extended family dinner celebrating... Hm, grandparent's birthday? Anniversary? I dunno, one of the times where we went to that one restaraunt. My cousin- who, by the way, has two young sons of his own, though at the time he only had one- was absolutely convinced that Big Bird was a girl, and put up quite an argument with my mother and me. His logic? Simple- why would a boy bird have a nest? My mom and I tried to prove him wrong, saying that in all the Sesame Street books, Big Bird is a "he," but since my cousin had never heard of Sesame Street having books, that didn't go over too well.