Shadow of the Colossus - Colossus 5 location and how to defeat the fifth colossus Avion, the Bird Colossus

How to find and defeat the fifth colossus.

Guide by Chris Tapsell Deputy Editor

Updated on March 16, 2018

Colossus 5 in Shadow of the Colossus, also known as the fifth colossus Avion, the Bird Colossus to fans, is the first time you encounter a flying creature in the game - or at least the first flying colossus.

It's slightly harder to reach than some of the previous colossi you've encountered so far residing at the heard of a foggy lake, in a similar direction to that of the last colossus.

Here, as with our other walkthrough pages we'll first take you through the fifth colossus' location, and then how to defeat Avion, the Bird Colossus, too.

Cycle back to our main Shadow of the Colossus walkthrough, guide and tips hub for much more, meanwhile. Otherwise let's dive in just below.

Colossus 5 location and how to find the fifth colossus Avion, the Bird Colossus

Avion, or the Bird Colossus or the fifth colossus - however you want to refer to it! - is located to the east of the central Shrine of Worship, similarly to the last one.

Head down the steps and turn left, again heading towards the rocks but this time hanging just a bit further to the left than you did with the Horse Colossus.

You'll encounter another path through the mountains, and soon enough reach a ruin and, in front of it, a body of water. The ruin is like a low wall across the water with a spiked fence running along the top of it, stopping you from climbing over.

Swim across the water - leaving Agro behind - to the central point of that wall. You'll see it's crumbled a little here, and there's a gap for you to swim under the wall and through to the other side.

Out the other side there's a climbable structure dead ahead of you. Hop up that, and run across the short walkway out to the other side, where a cutscene will trigger and you'll see the Bird Colossus for the first time.

Your task now, however, is getting to it.

How to defeat the fifth colossus, Avion the Bird Colossus

To get to Avion, you first need to tempt it off its perch and into attacking you.

First, hop down off the platform where the cutscene was triggered, and swim over to the nearby, surface-level platforms on the water.

Stand on one of them - we found the middle worked best - and fire an arrow at the Bird Colossus. If you hit it, it'll take off and begin to swoop down towards you.

Your aim is to jump and grab onto some of the Bird Colossus' feathers - or maybe it's fur? - as it swoops in the for the kill. Time it too early or too late and you'll take heavy damage, and we recommend you take cover inside one of the nearby rocky columns until you heal if you do get hit.

If you miss, it'll take one or two more swoops at you and then start flying around in a circle above you. You'll then need to hit it with another arrow - which'll be a bit harder now it's moving so fast - to provoke it into another attack. You'll know you've hit it when the blue health bar appears in the top left, and it makes a pained noise.

For more tips, guides and detailed, step-by-step advice, be sure to try out our main Shadow of the Colossus walkthrough and guide can help you hunt down and kill every colossus, including the tricky Colossus 3, Colossus 8, Colossus 9 and Colossus 11. We also have explainers on all Agro tricks, how to find and use lizards and fruit and Enlightenments, and where to find a The Last Guardian Easter egg and all Shrine locations.

We found the central platform of the three to be the easiest for getting onto its back. Once you're there, you know the drill. First head for the end of its long tail - when the fifth colossus evens out its flight path for a bit you can actually stand up and run down the tail, to recover some stamina - and stab that sigil a few times.

Then, head to the end of the left wing, working your way back up the Bird's spine to do so. After that, head to the right wing, and with one or two stabs it'll eventually go down.