She was born in Pietermaritzburg, Colony of Natal, and died in the village where she lived for most of her life, Westerham, aged 88.
[2] Her mother brought her children from Natal Colony to the UK to be educated and Maria attended a Scottish convent.
Following school, she studied the Dalcroze eurhythmics music and dance method under Émile Jaques-Dalcroze in Dessau.
[3] Maria Bird helped found BBC Children's Television with her close friend Freda Lingstrom with whom she set up Westerham Arts, the production company commissioned by the BBC to produce TV pieces including The Woodentops (1955), Flower Pot Men (1952) and Andy Pandy (1950).
[4] Westerham Arts was based in Chartwell Cottage (owned by Bird and Lingstrom and subsequently bequeathed to the National Trust).