Larry laid to rest as new Twitter bird takes flight

Larry Bird is dead. No, not the basketball legend of Celtics fame, but the other Bird. Twitter’s practically iconic Larry the Bird, the little blue symbol of the information network for the past six years, has been buried and replaced by a newborn, slightly tweaked Twitter bird.

Twitter revealed the simplified, nameless blue bird Wednesday morning. The new Twitter bird is meant to be the “universally recognizable symbol” of the information network moving forward, and replaces all icons and marks of old (including previous “t” and “twitter” logos), the company said.

The forsaken Larry, who has subtly evolved in shape and design over the years, got his name from NBA great Larry Bird. The new Twitter bird takes no inspiration from any one person, and instead is designed to be a geometric representation of Twitter activity.

“This bird is crafted purely from three sets of overlapping circles — similar to how your networks, interests and ideas connect and intersect with peers and friends,” creative director Doug Bowman explained in a blog post on the change.

The new Twitter bird may lack a celebrity namesake, but perhaps the change signals that Twitter’s information network has become famous enough to warrant a bird with stature of its own making. RIP Larry.