Melanie Daniels
Melanie is the heiress of a newspaper empire and a textbook glitterati, completely at home in the elite circles of San Francisco society. She is blonde, beautiful, wealthy, charming, well-dressed and well-connected, but she is most notorious for her indelicate behavior and elaborate pranks. She meets her match in Mitch Brenner, who tricks her in the pet store at the start of the film to play a joke on her. She is a sexually liberated woman who is not afraid of pursuing a man she wants (Mitch), even if it defies expectations of the time. The audience comes to understand some of her more ‘wild’ ways over the first part of the film as a product of her upbringing, and also begins to appreciate her as a good person as we learn more about her life and see her empathy and kindness toward others. She seems to be at the center of most of the bird attacks and becomes one of our heroes, along with Mitch and Annie, as she tries to save children from the bird attacks.
Mitch Brenner
Mitch is a handsome, successful lawyer in San Francisco, who recognizes Melanie in a pet shop from having seen her in court, defending herself for pranks that she pulled that resulted in property damage. His handsome exterior belies a smug, self-righteous streak and he repeatedly assails her with comments about her past mistakes and her wild group of friends over the first half of the film. He is, however, quite caring and protective of all of the women in his life, especially his mother and sister, but also Melanie when she arrives and the attacks begin. He implies that he learned to be protective like this because of the death of his father 4 years prior, which left his mother vulnerable and in need of attention and care.
Lydia Brenner
Mitch’s mother has been a widow for some time, but doesn’t seem to have recovered from the loss of her husband four years ago. She still dotes on Mitch even though he has grown and moved to San Francisco, and relies on him for the care and protection that she lost when her husband died. She is incredibly protective of him because of her fear of abandonment, worrying that she would lose him if he got married. She is therefore critical of any woman Mitch allows into his life, and Melanie is no exception. Over the course of the film, however, the disaster helps her to become more open with Melanie and they finally grow close, filling in care and attention for each other that they both seem to need. Lydia Brenner became the latest in a long line of dominant maternal characters that populate Hitchcock’s films and usually cast their authority over the other characters.
Cathy Brenner
Mitch’s younger sister and his biggest fan, Cathy takes a quick liking to Melanie because of her charm and the lovebirds she brought with her. The character of Cathy is unremarkable, intended to be a normal young girl who is excited about her birthday party and interested by the attractive and charming outsider that Mitch has brought home. She and her classmates are attacked several times throughout the film, and represent the more vulnerable members of society that Hitchcock shows being attacked to maximize anxiety in the audience. Despite experiencing the meaningless violence of the bird attacks she remains kind, even insisting on bringing her pet lovebirds with the family as they flee Bodega Bay.
Annie Hayworth
Annie is Mitch Brenner’s ex-girlfriend, and is used as a foil to Melanie in many ways. Annie is also classically beautiful, but in a more humble, down-to-earth manner. She is a brunette, which Hitchcock uses to physically highlight the distinctions between her and Melanie. Annie works as the schoolteacher of Bodega Bay and deals with people in an honest, straightforward manner. Emotionally, Annie is stable, responding to the bird attacks by heroically herding the children—including Cathy Brenner—into the safety of her house, eventually being pecked to death while defending the children against the birds. There is tension between her and Melanie, however, because of her history with Mitch, whom she likely still loves. However, she overcomes this tension in the face of danger, and unites with Melanie and Mitch to try and rescue children from harm.
Mrs. Bundy
The resident ornithologist of the island community of Bodega Bay, her main role in the film is to serve as a plot device to heighten the fear factor of the terror attacks by simply highlighting that all the attacks are a complete mystery.
Mrs. Macgruder
Mrs. Macgruder is the pet store owner who has already sold Melanie a myna bird at the start of the film (though it has not yet been delivered), and then sells her two lovebirds, which Melanie buys for Mitch. Her store is the setting of the meet between Melanie and Mitch. She is also used to show Melanie's entitled side: Melanie insists that Mrs. Macgruder deliver the myna bird to her apartment, though it is inconvenient, because the delivery of the bird to her pet shop is late. She does not appear again after this first scene.
Deke Carter
Deke owns and manages the restaurant at the center of town, The Tides. He works behind the bar mostly, while his wife waits tables, and they are both very involved in the goings-on around town. He first appears when Melanie receives an injury from a diving gull, and then again in the scene in the restaurant following the attack on the school, when Mrs. Bundy tries to convince him and Melanie that the birds could not possibly work together to attack humans.
Helen Carter
She helps run The Tides with her husband, Deke. She is less involved than Deke, but weighs in on the discussion of the birds following the attack on the school. She tries to mitigate the situation by telling the people at the bar (Deke, Melanie, Mr. Sholes, and Mrs. Bundy) to lower their voices because they are scaring the children while talking about the birds.
Mr. Sholes
Mr. Sholes is an important fisherman in Bodega Bay, and an important person in general because of the importance of fishing to the local economy. He first appears in the restaurant (The Tides) during the dramatic exchange between Mrs. Bundy and Melanie after the attack on the school, when he mentions that his boat was attacked by gulls a week prior. Mitch tries to enlist his help in ridding the town of the birds, especially because of the respect that all the townspeople have for him, but he is interrupted by the dramatic attack on the town that results in the explosion at the gas station.
