Is This A Pigeon? Meme Template

Point at one thing and confidently give it the wrong name. Label the person, the butterfly, and the mistaken guess to make the misunderstanding clear.

A character holds out a hand toward a butterfly and asks what it is. The meme turns that question into a misclassification: a small effort called an achievement, a convenience called a necessity, or a problem mistaken for a solution.

The butterfly’s label gives the audience the facts. The question shows how the person has misunderstood them. That difference is the joke.

The scene comes from episode three of the 1991 anime The Brave Fighter of Sun Fighbird. Katori, an alien using an android body, is trying to pass as human while misunderstanding things on Earth. [1] [2]

The question is not a botched English translation. Kara Dennison, who worked on the fansub, explained in 2018 that Katori really is confused in the scene. [2]

Label the character above his glasses and the butterfly near the upper right. This particular image already contains “Is this” and a white patch over the rest of the subtitle. Put only the ending of the question on that patch.

Keep the ending short. A phrase such as “progress?” completes the printed words without needing to repeat them.

Who is asking

The person or group making the wrong guess.

What it really is

The actual object or situation being misread.

the guess?

Only the question ending; “Is this” is already in the image.

• Give the butterfly a concrete label the audience can understand.
• Use the character’s label to say who is making the mistake.
• Let the final word reveal the mistaken conclusion.