The Jubjub bird is a dangerous creature mentioned in

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

nonsense Nonsense is a form of communication, via speech, writing, or any other formal logic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. In ordinary usage, nonsense is sometimes synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwri ...

poems "

Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a Nonsense verse, nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' ...

" (1871) and "

The Hunting of the Snark ''The Hunting of the Snark'', subtitled ''An Agony, in Eight Fits'', is a poem by the English writer Lewis Carroll. It is typically categorised as a nonsense poem. Written between 1874 and 1876, it borrows the setting, some creatures, and eig ...

" (1876). In "Jabberwocky," the only detail given about the bird is that the protagonist should "beware" it. In ''The Hunting of the Snark'', however, the creature is described in much greater depth. It is found in a narrow, dark, depressing and isolated valley. Its voice when heard is described as "a scream, shrill and high" like a pencil squeaking on a

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

, and significantly scares those who hear it, including the Beaver, who "turn pale to the tip of its tail." Its character traits include that it is "desperate" and "lives in perpetual passion;" it "knows any friend it has met once before" and will not "look at a bribe."

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

The Jubjub bird appears in

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

's 2010 version of ''Alice in Wonderland'' as a giant black bird resembling a cross between a vulture and a speckled chicken with a red head crest, a long yellow beak and a blue tongue. It is first seen when it captures both

Tweedledum and Tweedledee Tweedledum and Tweedledee are characters in an English nursery rhyme and in Lewis Carroll's 1871 book '' Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There''. Their names may have originally come from an epigram written by poet John Byrom. T ...

while trying to escape with

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

. It is not seen again until the Red Queen releases the Jubjub Bird onto a rebellious crowd. During the final battle, after the Mad Hatter's interference the Jubjub bird joins to fight for the Red Queen, only to later have its head crushed by a giant boulder from a catapult.

Other appearances

The Bluetones The Bluetones are an English indie rock band, formed in Hounslow, Greater London, in 1993. The band's members are Mark Morriss on vocals, Adam Devlin on guitar, Mark's brother Scott Morriss on bass guitar, and Eds Chesters on drums. A fift ...

recorded a song titled "The Jub-Jub Bird", which was released in 1998 on their second album '' Return to the Last Chance Saloon''. The song "Alpenglow" by

Nightwish Nightwish is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Kitee. The band was formed in 1996 by lead songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, and former lead singer Tarja Turunen. The band soon picked up drummer Jukka Neval ...

on the 2015 album ''Endless Forms Most Beautiful'' includes the line "together we slay another fright, every Jubjub bird, spooks of the past". Saydisc Records, in 1978, on SDL294, released 'Parlour Poetry'. All the verse was spoken by

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was a British actor and comedian. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 ''Carry ...

. Jabberwocky was one of four Lewis Carroll pieces included. 'The Walrus and the Carpenter'; 'You are Old, Father William'; and 'Hiawatha's Photographing', were the others. The minor planet 9781 Jubjubbird is named for the Jubjub bird.

Indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band Forgive Durden released a song named "Beware the Jubjub Bird and Shun the Frumious Bandersnatch" on their 2006 album '' Wonderland'', which features other songs inspired by the works of

References

Lewis Carroll characters Fictional birds Literary characters introduced in 1871 Fantasy creatures Jabberwocky {{child-lit-char-stub