Cucco

Cuccos (pronounced ) are chickens featured in several games of. They are well known for attacking Link if he attacks them for an extended period of time, and are sometimes known as the Cucco's Revenge Squad.

A Link to the Past
In Cuccos could be found in Kakariko Village. This game introduced their vengeful "revenge squad" behavior. Cucco-like monsters appeared in the Dark World, reacting to attacks with the same movements and sound effects, including the same "revenge squad" behavior.

Link's Awakening
Cuccos in cannot be lifted or thrown without the aid of the Power Bracelet, and could mainly be found in Mabe Village. They can be killed using the Magic Powder or Magic Rod. This is the only game in which Cuccos can be killed.

On Koholint Island's mountain range, a hen house can be found housing the Cucco Keeper and several Cuccos.

Flying Rooster
A unique Cucco known as the Flying Rooster helps Link acquire the Key to the Eagle's Tower and then helps him get to the actual level itself. By playing the "Frog's Song of Soul," that Link learned from Mamu in the Signpost Maze, underneath the Weathercock where the Flying Rooster rests in Mabe Village, the Rooster can be resurrected. While a normal Cucco in this game will do nothing special while lifted, the Flying Rooster will allow Link to fly over bottomless pits much like Roc's Feather. Unlike the feather, Link does not fall down until he throws the rooster. The Flying Rooster will follow Link around everywhere on the overworld map, but will not follow him into dungeons. The Flying Rooster can also be used to get one of the optional 26 Secret Seashells near Kanalet Castle.

Once Link has completed Eagle's Tower, the Flying Rooster will leave and make its new home in the Hen House of the mountain range, and will be owned by the Cucco Keeper who lives there. The Flying Rooster is seen giving the man some flights in his house, and Link will no longer be able to use it.

Ocarina of Time
Cuccos could be found in a variety of places in, and again attacked Link in swarms if struck. As a new feature, Link could grab a Cucco and use it to glide slowly when jumping off a cliff. This technique is known as Cucco Gliding, and can be used several times throughout the game to earn Pieces of Heart. Unlike the Flying Rooster, Cuccos grabbed in this and later games cause Link to slowly glide downward instead of fly upwards.

When Link first encounters Malon in the Town Market she tells him of her father who had come to the Castle to deliver milk but probably fell asleep whilst doing so. She offers Link an egg that she had been incubating in return for looking for him. After a day passes, a Cucco will hatch from the egg, although it is simply called a "chicken" (this was changed to "Cucco" in ). The Cucco is necessary for Link to awaken Talon inside the castle.

Anju, who can be found in Kakariko Village, requests that Link helps return her missing Cuccos to their pen. If this task is accomplished, Link can earn a Bottle. When Link returns later, the Cuccos will found to be out of their pen once more. He can complete the task as many times as he returns to the village. Anju will instead give him fifty Rupees each time.

A second Bottle, filled with Lon Lon Milk, can be won in the Super Cucco Game. This minigame is only accessible as a child at Lon Lon Ranch, and requires Link to pick Talon's three "Super Cuccos" from among a brood of regular Cuccos. There is no discernible difference in appearance or behavior between these "Super Cuccos" and regular Cuccos.

Ocarina of Time also features Cojiro, the only known blue Cucco, and a smaller variant known as the Pocket Cucco.

Majora's Mask
In, Cuccos appear and function the same as in Ocarina of Time. The Cucco Shack at Romani Ranch is home to a number of Cucco chicks, which Link helps to mature into adulthood using the Bremen Mask. There is also one Cucco in the Barn. However, other than maturing the baby Cuccos to obtain the Bunny Hood, Cuccos serve no purpose in this game and cannot effectively be used for gliding.

Oracle Series
Cuccos in and  appear similarly and function identically to those found in Link's Awakening. An interesting attribute of Cuccos unique to the Oracle series is the effect Mystery Seeds have on them. If a Cucco has not called in the Revenge Squad when it is hit by a Mystery Seed, it will be reverted to a baby form of itself which will continue to swarm Link. However, this baby form cannot damage Link.

If the Cucco has called in the Revenge Squad, then it will instead triple in size, hurting Link through physical contact until he leaves. When a Cucco is enlarged like this, it becomes impossible to pick up, and will immediately begin to attack Link if he attacks it again.

Flying Roosters can be found at Mt. Cucco in Oracle of Seasons.

Four Swords Adventures
Cuccos in are similar to the ones in A Link to the Past, attacking Link with a Cucco Revenge Squad when attacked.

The Minish Cap
The Cuccos of are mostly the same as in A Link to the Past, though there are golden Cuccos that appear only for a minigame along with small yellow Cucco Chicks. The Cuccos play a part in a mini game where Link has to capture the Cuccos before the time runs out. The golden Cuccos are the most hyper and will escape the Link's grasp much more frequently than the white Cuccos. If Link hits a Cucco when it is trapped in a corner more than about 20 times, it will run around the whole of Hyrule Town and may cause Link harm. The Cucco chicks will attack Link if he is shrunk. Link can fuse Kinstones with the Cucco chicks on Swiftblade's house if he is in Minish form.

Twilight Princess
Cuccos in now come in white, brown and other realistic chicken colors. When attacked repeatedly, the Cuccos no longer call in the revenge squad. Instead, attacking them allows Link to control the Cucco for ten seconds, similar to how Seagulls could be controlled with Hyoi Pears in.

The Oocca are very similar to Cuccos in appearance and name. When Link grabs one in City in the Sky, they can even be used to glide like a regular Cucco.

A white Cucco known as Cucco Leader is the leader of all Cats in the Hidden Village. Unlike other Cuccos, he is not arrogant, but seems to genuinely care for all the Cats and wants them to be happy.

Rusl lent Link a shiny Golden Cucco with faster flight abilities that allowed Link to reach the Sacred Grove. Unlike other Twilight Princess Cuccos, the Golden Cucco cannot be controlled by striking it repeatedly. If Link speaks to him as Wolf Link, he will sing a familiar rhyme, but with a twist.

Phantom Hourglass
Cuccos in appear and function similarly to their counterparts in Ocarina of Time. The Revenge Squad comes at Link at much higher speed than any other game, making them a more lethal force.

Spirit Tracks
Cuccos in appear and function similarly to their counterparts in Phantom Hourglass. The Revenge Squad comes at Link for as long as the attacked Cucco is red. Additionally, they are one of the cargo items that can be transported in freight cars. A man who raises Cuccos in northwestern Hyrule Castle Town sells five of them to Link for 50 Rupees. Link can only transport up to five Cuccos at a time. Like with other cargo items, Link loses a Cucco every time the train is hit. Link earns a Force Gem by bringing a total of ten Cuccos to a man in Aboda Village. Later on, Link gains another Force Gem by bringing five of them to Rael at the Sand Sanctuary. Rael wishes to study their vengeful behavior in order to "harness this unbelievable Cucco power for good of mankind."

A Link Between Worlds
In, Cuccos appear in Hyrule, where the Cucco Girl runs the Cucco Ranch minigame near Kakariko Village. In it, Link is tasked with avoiding large numbers of Cuccos of different sizes in a given amount of time to win Rupees and a Piece of Heart. The minigame has several difficulties which increase the time and number of Cuccos to be avoided. Cuccos can also, in some cases, be used to glide to places that cannot normally be reached, such as rooftops. A few Maiamais are obtained this way, as well as treasure. Lorule features skeletal Cucco-like creatures which behave just like Cuccos.

Tri Force Heroes
In, Cuccos appear in the Sky Realm. They are primarily used for gliding from one platform to another.

Cucco's Revenge Squad
Ever since the introduction of the Cucco in A Link to the Past, if Link attacks a Cucco enough times, a large group of indestructible Cuccos will attack him; this flock of pestered poultry is rightly named the. In most titles, attacking a Cucco up to 30 or more times will summon the attacking flock. The flock will continuously attack Link until he either perishes, waits 10 seconds for them to fly away or leaves the area, as Cuccos cannot follow Link into different maps. However, in Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, the attacking flock will stay around forever until Link either perishes or leaves the area.

In A Link to the Past, Cuccos appear in both the Light World and the Dark World, making it possible for the attacking flock to appear in both worlds.

In Ocarina of Time, they appear in Lon Lon Ranch, Kakariko Village, and Zora's River. There are some, but few areas in which Link cannot get hurt by the Cucco's Revenge Squad, in which Link is still in the area. Some of these areas are, but are not limited to the Well in Kakariko Village from Ocarina of Time, and a few steps back from the cage in the Astral Observatory from Majora's Mask. Link also cannot be harmed by Cuccos if he is on Epona. When a Cucco has been hit enough times, a cutscene will follow where it will crow for the revenge squad. If a Cucco is hit by even a single blast from a Bomb, it will immediately crow for them.

In all three Zelda games for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, the squad also makes an appearance, aiding their injured brethren from further harm from Link.

While cuccos are missing in The Wind Waker, Pigs also attack Link when provoked. Nearby pigs will begin attacking Link, but more will not spawn.

The Cucco Revenge Squad disappears in Twilight Princess, as attacking a Cucco many times will result in being able to control the Cucco for about 10 seconds. The reason for the Revenge Squad's absence is unknown. However, the change may not have much meaning behind it, except that almost every aspect of Zelda underwent a transformation during the development of Twilight Princess, from the evolution of the Boomerang to the Gale Boomerang, to the complete replacement of the Moblins with Bulblins. The Goats in Ordon Village also served the same purpose as the Cuccos. When herding them, if Link whoops at them too much they will turn red, turn around and knock Link off of Epona. When possessing a Cucco, Cats will attack it.

The squad returned in Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, and subsequent games afterward.

Cucco Gliding
Cucco Gliding originated in Link's Awakening and can be seen in other games such as Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Phantom Hourglass. In order to glide, Link must grab a Cucco, run off a ledge, and he will glide safely to the ground with the Cucco squirming and frantically flapping its wings.

Cucco gliding is used primarily to gain access to Eagle's Tower by helping Link acquire the Bird Key, using the Flying Rooster. Falbi's Flight by Fowl in Twilight Princess focuses on Cucco gliding. In Tri Force Heroes, Cucco gliding is used in some areas to progress forward in the Sky Realm.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U
In, Cuccos appear as items. When thrown, they release a group of Cuccos who will attack the targeted opponent and anyone else in the way. They also appear in their A Link to the Past appearance as enemies in the Nintendo 3DS exclusive mode,.

Hyrule Warriors
In, Cuccos appear as neutral units on the battlefields, usually with only one spawning. When attacked and having been damaged enough, they will turn hostile and start spawning more Cuccos that will follow and attack the player's Warrior. Unlike many previous appearances of Cuccos, they are not invincible and can be defeated. However, they have a significantly high amount of health and high attack power. A golden Cucco, which serves as an enemy general, may usually be summoned among the third wave of Cuccos.

In some Adventure Mode battles, instead of a normal Cucco spawning, the golden variant will appear from the start, visiting Keeps and looking for food in them to power itself up. The player's Warrior will be tasked to stop it before reaching full power. In other battles, a pair of Cuccos may fight over a Keep until it is claimed. In this situation, the player's Warrior may choose to quell the fight before a victor can be declared. If the Cuccos are not calmed, the victor will immediately capture the Keep, and populate it with an army of Cuccos. This army will then begin to campaign towards other Keeps, sending Cuccos as raid parties until the Cucco army has captured a total of three Keeps.

A different Adventure Mode battle involves having to escort a Cucco chick to its mother, the Mama Cucco, while keeping it safe from enemies in the process. Escorting the Cucco chick back to its mother will summon Cucco reinforcements to join the Allied Force. However, if the chick is not teamed up with Mama Cucco in time, the Cucco will turn hostile.

In the Master Quest, Twilight, and Termina maps, as well as in the Boss Challenge and Ganon's Fury modes, a rare silver Cucco variant will sometimes randomly appear in certain battles. Upon defeat, it grants 10,000 Rupees.

The Boss DLC Pack also introduces an unlockable Challenge Mode called Cucco's Fury, which features a playable, giant Cucco. This mode is unlocked after clearing Survival Mode Lv. 3 of Ganon's Fury with an A-Rank. Unlike other characters, the giant Cucco is extremely limited in its moveset, consisting of only a two-hit pecking attack as its normal combo and a tackle as its Strong Attack. Its Special Attack summons flocks of Cuccos to stampede enemies around a wide area. It also cannot use items. Similarly to Ganon in Ganon's Fury, the Cucco cannot be upgraded at the Bazaar and does not gain new weapons. Despite this, in-game data shows that it is equipped with a weapon called Cucco's Spirit, which is of the Light element.

One of Lana's special attacks with the Summoning Gates can also summon a giant Cucco to attack enemies.

Cuccos also assist Linkle in some of her attacks with the Boots.

In the 3DS port, the first chapter of Linkle's story has her leading an army of Cuccos in order to recover her stolen compass from the Skull Kid and to stop Ghirahim from summoning the fully revived version of The Imprisoned.

Trivia

 * In, a resident of Kakariko Village will tell Link to "not be such a Cucco," a play on the phrase "don't be such a chicken," a reference to the Cuccos being the Zelda series' counterpart to chickens. Similarly, in , Ciela refers to Linebeck multiple times as Cucco for his cowardly tendencies.

Etymology
The name "Cucco" is most probably an onomatopoeia of the sound a chicken makes. However, it is possible that the name is a reference to Jill's carrier pigeon of the same name in the 1986 anime Windaria.