Despite looking plain, I can’t get mad at this blobby bird. Technically, its design supports the fact it’s supposed to be nothing more than a farm chicken (but that doesn’t stop you from raising dozens of them to laser beam everything to death).

I love Chikipi’s running animation, because it has to flail around to compensate for its body literally just being a blob and then feet.

There’s an idle animation in which its wattles randomly fall off. It’s one of those goofy Easter eggs in plain sight. I’ve seen some people call Chikipi’s shocked reaction a certain “salute”, which got a chuckle out of me.

Pengullet has a lot of mascot appeal. It’s such a simple and clean design, and I’d buy a plushie of it in a heartbeat (get to it, Squishmallows!)

My favorite animations are when Pengullet wiggles its little feet while cooling equipment, and how it recklessly balances objects atop its head.

Pengullet is also one of the Pals capable of using guns… Well, sort of. Rather, it becomes the ammo.

Because of my Pal team composition, I didn’t use this feature. Maybe I can do a bird-only run in the future… maybe if PocketPair designs more maps. 200 hours in the vanilla game is more than enough…

And of course, you can’t have a penguin without a tuxedo variant. Pengullet Lux is half Lightning element, and the lore reason is hilarious:

The feathers of this Pal have all but disappeared, and it can no longer fly. Yet its longing for the sky has turned to jealousy— so it harnessed electricity to strike down those who still soar.

Several Pals have what I call the “Marge Simpson Pearl Necklace” in their designs, but it often looks tacky. For Penking, it meshes better with its sailor captain outfit.

Penking isn’t genetically tied to Pengullet at all, so the two of them are a rare instance of Palworld expressing mutualism.

This Pal is clearly Palworld’s equivalent to Murkrow, complete with the built-in witch hat. Sadly, it can’t compete with the god-tier design of its competitor. I do like the sassy wings and giant eyebrows, though.

The blue-to-yellow gradient crests are striking, but Galeclaw is otherwise a plain eagle with the “triangle eyes” seen on a lot of bird Pokémon (although I don’t intend to demean its usage. It is a highly effective aesthetic choice).

Nitewing looks rough to me. This is the kind of design I’d point to as a poor bootleg, which is unfortunate since Nitewing only hazily reminds me of Staraptor.

The giant chicken thighs are hilarious, though. You can spot Nitewing a mile away.

Tocotoco desperately needs to use a color palette and body patterns that don’t lift so heavily from Xatu. Other than that, it’s a hilarious and amazing Pal.

Its deadpan stare and comically large mohawk and tail are paired with a highly aggressive personality. Tocotoco is territorial to the point it will detonate itself with explosive eggs.

If you have a flying mount or higher ground, the poor thing can’t stop the countdown from ticking. It’s a miracle that this creature has a sizable population.

As a bonus, you can command Tocotoco to turn itself into an egg launcher. Again, hilarious and amazing.

PLAGUE DOCTOR BIRD WITH WINGS SHAPED INTO A CAPE AND SUPER COOL GLOWING EYES!!! Instant Highest Praise award!

There’s some fun lore and trivia that adds to Cawgnito’s appeal. Its ancestors changed habits after drama with Galeclaw, so they evolved into flightless birds, which suggests that the cape is actually their atrophied wings.

Cawgnito marching around like a caique gives it so much charm. This was animated by someone who understands the dorky appeal of birds.

Its signature attack causes it to blink to its target and kick its legs in quick succession, complete with cartoony sound effects.

I hate admitting that this (for lack of a better term) Ice Kirby bird stole my heart. It’s only slightly more detailed than a Chikipi. But damnit, this little guy is so adorable.

Being that Muffly is another blobby bird with no actual legs, it bounces around like a ball, though I feel it struggles more than Chikipi. It's always adorable watching it try its hardest to run to the feed box.

Muffly is capable of transporting loot, but it’s really, really bad at it.

You don’t have to torture yourself like this, Muffly! Just focus on the ice box! You're still a valuable member of the team without this skill!

It may look like a dragon, but Helzephyr is pure Dark element, so I count it as a proper bird.

I find myself reacting to every design choice for this character with, “It’s okay.” The spectral crest is okay, the blue face plate thing is okay (the eyes look like stickers on a toy, though), and the lightning bolts on its wings are okay.

Helzephyr was my flying mount for a significant chunk of my original playthrough, so I have a little nostalgia for it, at least.

While these species are unrelated in the lore, they’re effectively palette swaps, so I’ll lump them together here.

I can’t put my finger on why I feel both Pals need a little extra flair to be solid character designs, so I guess I’ll just focus on what works.

The black feathers look great as a mask, with Ragnahawk’s bonus lightningbolt eyebrows making it stand out more.

I don’t know why, but the scooped feathers along Ragnahawk’s back are visually interesting, so out of the two birds, it's my favorite.

When I first discovered this goofy palm tree bird, it became an instant favorite. I love its snarky expression and the fact it constantly performs flamenco dances.

Palumba’s design was extremely fun to research, and it was all luck that I stumbled across 3 possible layers behind its name alone.

The “pal” in Palumba is the easiest to guess; it’s grabbed from “palm tree”. But what about the second half of the name?

I originally thought "Palumba" was referencing the classic “La Bamba”, but I'm not entirely confident with that idea.

“Balumbo”, a Spanish word for something that’s bulky or cumbersome, would make Palumba’s name mean something close to “chunky palm tree”.

But wait, there’s another layer to this. There’s a pun that can be found in a certain bird’s Latin name: Columba palumboides, also known as the Andaman WOOD PIGEON.

To wrap up this absolutely crazed research, it’s worth bringing up Elche, Spain and its date palm orchard, the Palmeral.

Everything about Palumba is lovingly crafted to celebrate Spanish culture. It’s amazing.

We’re back to a straightforward design with this lovely white and icy blue peacock. Frostplume’s tail forms a snowflake pattern as well as a sundial, which inspired ancient Palpagos residents to adopt 24-hour days.

A Native American headdress is a cool look for a bird crest. Unfortunately, Dazemu doesn’t have anything else that impresses me. The clothing-for-wings isn't as striking as it is on Cognito.

This one’s up for debate as a bird, but I’m going to label it as birdlike because of its owl hoot.

Omascul is a seemingly innocuous creature that looks straight out of Hollow Knight, but it holds a fun twist once you see what’s behind the mask.

I wish I had thought of combining a fancy chicken with a thunderbird! It’s so simple yet brilliant. The real birds, such as Silkies, look as if they were struck by lightning, so it’s the perfect fit for Dynamoff.

With an overgrown crest and feather pants, as well as fluffy cloud wings, Dynamoff can be best described as “adorable” and “even more adorable that it fancies itself as edgy”.

I’m rearranging the Palpedia’s numbers for a moment so that this article doesn’t end with a whimper. The last couple numerically ordered bird Pals are underwhelming to me.

Shadowbeak has the misfortune of “That reminds me of Silvally”-itis. The magical ring around its abdomen feels tacked on.

I'm not sure why Faleris ranks lower on my review scale; I just don't care for it. The Spartan helmet crest is a nice idea, though.

Another pal with a clothing-feather concept that works well. Roujay is a thief by nature, so it's outfit is complete with a shady mask and cloak.

If I was limited to a static portrait, I’d rank Tropicaw as being goofy but somewhat forgettable, give it a Thumbs Up and move on. However, so much of Tropicaw’s personality shines through its animations, that they elevate it to my Highest Praise tier.

For this bird, every movement has a funny step behind it. Just walking requires it to dramatically throw around its wings and legs, and running is equally comedic.

A simple meal brings it the greatest joy imaginable. When Tropicaw assists with farming, it puts its heart and soul into it, using its flower to disperse seeds.

The only task it struggles with is swimming. Poor thing.

Tropicaw is an example of why I obsessively grab footage for my Monster Bin articles. The effort is always worth it.