Tamaa

―Tamaa[src] | ”

**Tamaa** is a male drongo.

Due to his inability to feed himself, Tamaa began using his voice mimicry skills to imitate predators and scare prey animals away from their food. Eventually, the Lion Guard caught wind of Tamaa's schemes and told him to collect food honestly. Though Tamaa initially acquiesced to their request, he eventually slipped back into his old habits and drew the attention of Janja and his cronies, Cheezi and Chungu. The hyenas captured Tamaa and forced him to mimic Kion's voice so as to coerce a herd of impalas into congregating in the Outlands. Before the hyenas could harm the impalas, the Lion Guard arrived, saved Tamaa, and defeated Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu. Afterward, Tamaa vowed to only use his voice for good from then on.

Later, the Lion Guard recruited Tamaa to help them fight Janja's clan and Reirei's pack, who were deliberately striking at different times in order to confuse the Lion Guard. Tamaa agreed to the assignment. Not long afterward, Kion ordered Tamaa to deal with the jackals while the Lion Guard defended Rafiki from the hyenas. Though Tamaa initially distracted the jackals, they soon figured out his trick and took off to help the hyenas fight the Lion Guard. Tamaa warned the Lion Guard about the inbound jackals, and together, he, Rafiki, and the Lion Guard defeated the army of Outlanders.

## Biography

### Early life

―Tamaa[src] | ”

Tamaa lived in the Pride Lands. As a chick, he learned that he had a knack for imitating the voices of other animals. However, he struggled to feed himself, so he began using his talent to trick small animals into thinking that there were predators nearby. Then, in their absence, he would steal their food.

### Meeting the Lion Guard

―Tamaa to the Lion Guard[src] | ”

One day, Tamaa used his voice to imitate Goigoi, Janja, and Makuu so as to scare several Pride Landers away from their food. The Lion Guard was alerted to the situation and began sniffing around for the seemingly invisible predators. While they were searching, they overheard Janja and followed his voice to where Tamaa was sitting in a bush. The Lion Guard pressed him for information, and he pointed them in the right direction. However, as they were following Tamaa's instructions, Ono suddenly ordered the Lion Guard to turn back.

Once they returned to Tamaa, the Lion Guard witnessed him mimicking Janja's voice in order to scare off a hyrax. A furious Kion confronted Tamaa for his wrongdoing, and the drongo admitted that he was the one who had scared off all the animals and stolen their food. He then explained his voice mimicry skills to the Lion Guard. Despite Tamaa's pride in his talent, Kion remained unimpressed and made the drongo promise to only use his own voice from then on.

After the Lion Guard left, Tamaa attempted to kindly ask animals for their food, but his efforts proved futile. Frustrated and hungry, Tamaa resorted to using his voice once more to steal from innocent animals. Janja happened to overhear Tamaa and cornered him in a bush. Tamaa begged the hyenas not to eat him, and Janja assured him that he had other plans for him. True to his word, Janja forced Tamaa to imitate Kion's voice to send a herd of impalas into the Outlands. The plan worked, and the hyenas held Tamaa captive as they followed the herd into the Outlands.

Back in the Pride Lands, the Lion Guard happened across Thurston, who was fervently trying to escape danger. Upon being questioned, he revealed that he and the impalas had heard Kion instructing them to go to the Outlands for safety. Suspicious, Kion surmised that Janja was forcing Tamaa to herd impalas into the Outlands for his own satisfaction, and the Lion Guard rushed to put a stop to the danger.

Meanwhile, Tamaa was forced to watch as Janja crept up on the herd of impalas, who had been successfully herded into the Outlands. With Janja distracted, Tamaa managed to imitate the hyena leader's voice and tricked Cheezi into letting him go. Once free, Tamaa imitated the other Lion Guard members and scared Janja and his cronies into a huddle.

However, Janja realized that Cheezi had let Tamaa go and cornered the drongo in the ravine. Just in time, the real Lion Guard arrived and chased the hyenas away from Tamaa and the impalas. With the danger abated, they escorted the impalas back to the Pride Lands, where Tamaa vowed to only use his voice for good from then on. After making his promise, he imitated Bunga's voice and swooped away.

### Assisting the Lion Guard

―Tamaa on Reirei's pack[src] | ”

The Lion Guard traveled across the Pride Lands to where Tamaa was performing for a group of Pride Landers by using his voice to imitate other animals. At the Lion Guard's arrival, Tamaa quickly explained that he was no longer stealing from other animals, but rather using his voice to earn food from them. Kion assured Tamaa that they were not checking up on him, then recruited him to help them deal with Janja's clan and Reirei's pack, who were deliberately striking at different times in order to create confusion. Though hesitant about the danger, Tamaa accepted the assignment.

Later, Ono spotted the jackals chasing down a herd of gazelles, and Kion ordered his team to pursue them. In the meantime, Ono watched for hyenas from above. Shortly into the chase, he caught sight of the hyenas stalking Rafiki. In order to curb this new threat, Kion changed course and sent Tamaa ahead to deal with the jackals on his own.

Tamaa caught up to the jackals and cornered them in a clearing by impersonating the voices of the Lion Guard. Reirei was pleased that they had managed to draw the Lion Guard's attention away from Janja, but Goigoi worried that they would be harmed as a result. Tamaa attempted to imitate Kion's Roar of the Elders, but the spectacle merely confused the jackals, who had expected to be blown away. Suddenly, Reirei noticed Tamaa's tail feathers through the trees and pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. She realized that Kion had tricked them, and the jackals promptly left to assist the hyenas. At the same time, Tamaa rushed off to warn the Lion Guard.

Across the savanna, the Lion Guard joined forces with Rafiki and defeated the entirety of Janja's clan. Before long, Tamaa appeared and warned the Lion Guard about the jackals, and Kion ordered him to reach safety while the Lion Guard and Rafiki took on Reirei's pack. A fight instigated, during which the Lion Guard and Rafiki battled the combined forces of the hyenas and the jackals. In the midst of the battle, Tamaa managed to save Kion by imitating Beshte's voice and distracting Janja, which gave Kion the opportunity to get the better of his opponent. The hyenas and jackals retreated, and Tamaa expressed pride in his work.

## Physical appearance

Tamaa is a small drongo, with blue-tinted black feathers. He has a gray beak, dark blue eyebrows, gray legs, and green eyes.

## Personality and traits

―Tamaa[src] | ”

Deceptive and sly, Tamaa put his voice mimicry skills to good use. He was unashamed of his dishonest ways and even went so far as to call his behavior an "act" and a "game." In the face of reprimands by the Lion Guard, he tended to feign innocence and make excuses for his way of life. However, after helping the Lion Guard save a herd of impalas, he changed his ways and vowed to only use his talent for good. Since then, Tamaa has kept his word, as he now uses his voice mimicry skills to make animals laugh and donate their food to him willingly.

## Relationships

	+ Kion - Savior
	+ Bunga
	+ Fuli
	+ Ono
	+ Beshte
* Simba's pride
	+ Simba
* Royal Mjuzi
	+ Rafiki †
	+ Janja - Former Captor
	+ Cheezi
	+ Chungu
	+ Nne
	+ Tano
* Reirei's pack
	+ Reirei
	+ Goigoi

## Appearances

* *The Lion King: Revisited*
	+ "Return of the Roar"
	+ "Snow Day"
	+ "Hadithi: Keenest of Sight"
	+ "Lion Guard: Wild Schemes and Catastrophes"

## Trivia

### General

* Tamaa was voiced by C.J. Byrnes.

* Tamaa's name means "hope" or "lust, longing, ambition, obsession" in Swahili.

* Tamaa's long tail feathers imply that he is a Greater racket-tailed drongo. However, Greater racket-tailed drongos only live in Asia.

* Tamaa's nickname, "Bird of a Thousand Voices," is likely a reference to Mel Blanc, who was nicknamed the "Man of a Thousand Voices."

### In development

* Tamaa was to attend Mufasa's funeral in *Epilogue: An Important Coronation*.