Hoopoe
The hoopoe is the most revered of all the birds. He is considered the most wise and therefore is the one whom the other birds ask to designate a leader for them. Unwilling to accept the position himself, he points the birds toward the legendary Simorgh to be their king. He is trying to make a point to the other birds about setting other people up to be their moral superiors when they are just as capable of accomplishing the same feat within themselves. In a way, he responds to their request kindly because he tells them not to make excuses for their own failures. They shouldn't be looking to others to lead them; they should be the leaders.
Simorgh
This mystical, legendary bird has never been seen before. The hoopoe tells the other birds to seek for the Simorgh to be their king. Simorgh, however, can only be found after passing through a series of seven challenging valleys. Rather than an actual bird, he is a symbol of the divine within everyone. He is the face of god which the other birds have set up to alleviate their own responsibility to behave divinely. When the birds finally enter Simorgh's domain, they discover that he's been existing within them the entire time. They figuratively found him as a result of the quest, but they found him within themselves.
