The Snowbird is a human-powered ornithopter that was built as a project of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS).

Leonardo da Vinci is frequently credited with creating the first design for a human-powered ornithopter in 1485.

[3][5] In 1991, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) awarded a “Diplôme d’Honneur” for the first remotely operated engine-powered ornithopter, which was developed by Professor James DeLaurier and UTIAS.

[7] The Human-Powered Ornithopter Project (HPO) started in the summer of 2006, as a spin-off of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) flapping-wing research program.

[12] The Snowbird completed successful free-flights prior to its officially monitored record run.

[12] For its official aviation-first flight, it was piloted by Todd Reichert, a 28-year-old PhD graduate student of the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies.

[14] The run occurred at the Great Lakes Gliding Club,[1][4][15] in Tottenham, Ontario,[15] on 2 August 2010,[10] at around 6:45 am.

With training of the pilot, with the intent of peaking for the record attempt, it was decided to end flights for the season.