What Is the "Is This a Pigeon?" Meme? Origin & Meaning
Learn about the "Is This a Pigeon?" anime meme. Origin, meaning, and how to use this misidentification format.
"Is This a Pigeon?" is a meme based on a screenshot from the 1991 anime series "The Brave Fighter of Sun Fighbird." In the scene, the android character Yutaro Katori looks at a butterfly and asks "Is this a pigeon?" The scene demonstrates how unfamiliar he is with Earth life.
The screenshot became a meme in the late 2010s as a way to joke about someone completely misidentifying something obvious.
How It Works
The butterfly is labeled as something, and the character asks if it is something completely different. The format highlights absurd misidentification, misunderstanding, or miscategorization. The three labels (person, butterfly/object, wrong identification) create the joke.
Why It Is Funny
The meme is funny because the misidentification is so wrong that it is absurd. It works as commentary on people, companies, or institutions that clearly misunderstand or mischaracterize something.
Common Uses
Popular uses include: companies calling basic features "innovation," people calling any inconvenience "trauma," politicians calling any policy they dislike "socialism," and any situation where someone labels something with a wildly incorrect term.