# When Big Bird Speaks...
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-big-bird-speaks/519330
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 29, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-big-bird-speaks/519330 "2009-11-29T14:51:07Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-big-bird-speaks/519330/1 "2009-11-29T14:51:07Z")
If I were on a show like “Sesame Street”, would I hear Big Bird talk? Is someone speaking into a microphone off-stage, or is it dubbed in later? I wager it must be the former so the other actor(s) are ready with their next line(s), right?
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### Author:  [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-big-bird-speaks/519330/2 "2009-11-29T16:31:45Z")
There is actually a man inside the Big Bird suit moving the character’s mouth and speaking his lines. This [sketch](http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/File:Jimhenson-bigbird.png) by Jim Henson shows how the suit is constructed. There is a video screen inside the costume which allows the performer to see what is going on outside as well as a microphone. I’m not an expert on the subject, but it appears that most of the puppeteers are speaking their lines “live” as the sketches are taped- the only exception is musical numbers. Some behind-the-scenes footage that appears on the recently-released _Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days_ DVD shows puppeteers lip-synching to a pre-recorded musical track during a musical number.
There was a [thread here recently](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=539641) about Big Bird and how he is performed.