Birds of Prey (team)

Birds of Prey
Textless cover of Birds of Prey #8 (March 2011). Art by Stanley "Artgerm" Lau.
Group publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey #1 (January 1996)
Created by	Chuck Dixon
In-story information
Base(s)	Clocktower Aerie One
Member(s)	Current: Black Canary Cassandra Cain Big Barda Zealot Harley Quinn Former: Oracle (Gus Yale) Batwoman Jade Canary Gypsy Grace Choi Hawkgirl (Kendra Saunders) Judomaster Manhunter (Kate Spencer) Misfit Hawk Dove (Dawn Granger) Black Alice Power Girl Vixen Starling Katana Strix Condor Catwoman Poison Ivy Batgirl Huntress Lady Blackhawk
Birds of Prey
	Cover of Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey #1 (1996), art by Gary Frank.
Series publication information
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	(Vol. 1) January 1999 – April 2009 (Vol. 2) July 2010 – August 2011 (Vol. 3) September 2011 – October 2014 (Batgirl and the Birds of Prey) July 2016 – May 2018 (Vol. 4) September 2023 – present
Number of issues	Vol. 1: 127 Vol. 2: 15 Vol. 3: 34 Batgirl and the Birds of Prey: 22 and a Rebirth one-shot
Creative team
Writer(s)	Chuck Dixon Terry Moore Gilbert Hernandez Gail Simone Tony Bedard Sean McKeever Duane Swierczynski Shawna Benson Julie Benson Kelly Thompson
Artist(s)	Greg Land Butch Guice Rick Leonardi Amanda Conner Casey Jones Ed Benes Joe Bennett Paulo Siqueira Nicola Scott Michael O'Hare Claude St. Aubin Jesus Saiz Claire Roe Roge Antonio Leonardo Romero
Creator(s)	Chuck Dixon

The Birds of Prey is a superhero team featured in several American comic book series, miniseries, and special editions published by DC Comics since 1996. The book's premise originated as a partnership between Black Canary and Barbara Gordon, who had adopted the codename Oracle at the time, but has expanded to include additional superheroines. The team name "Birds of Prey" was attributed to DC assistant editor Frank Pittarese in the text page of the first issue.^[1] The group is initially based in Gotham City and later operates in Metropolis and then relocates once more to "Platinum Flats", California, a new locale introduced in Birds of Prey in 2008.

The series was conceived by Jordan B. Gorfinkel and originally written by Chuck Dixon. Gail Simone scripted the comic from issue #56 to #108. Sean McKeever was originally to replace Simone,^[2][3] but McKeever subsequently decided to leave the project and only wrote issues #113–117; Tony Bedard, who wrote issues #109–112, briefly took over the title at issue #118.^[4] Artists have included Butch Guice, Greg Land, Ed Benes and Joe Bennett; Nicola Scott began a stint as artist with issue #100. In 2011, the title was relaunched under writer Duane Swierczynski and artist Jesus Saiz. With the 2016 company-wide soft relaunch DC Rebirth, the Birds of Prey are re-introduced in the new title Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, featuring a team consisting of Batgirl, Black Canary and Huntress.

Despite the title of the series being Birds of Prey, the phrase was not mentioned in the book until issue #86, when one of the group's members, Zinda Blake, suggests that it might be a fitting name for the team, but other characters get sidetracked and do not respond to her suggestion. Oracle, the team's leader, refers to the group by that name in a conversation with the new Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes,^[5] and later within the series.^[6]

The core of the team is made up of Oracle, who serves as the leader of the group, Huntress and Black Canary, with other heroines forming a rotating roster sometimes for extended periods, sometimes for merely one adventure. After Black Canary's departure, Huntress remained as the staple member and field leader, alongside new "core members". Following the events of Flashpoint (2011) and the company-wide relaunch as part of The New 52, Oracle recovers her mobility and reclaims her former Batgirl identity, taking a brief hiatus from the team in the process. Despite the previously all-female central roster, male allies such as Nightwing, Wildcat, Savant and Creote frequently assist missions. In addition, Hawk and Dove briefly joined the team, making Hawk its first male member.