Yes, this birdy certainly looks like a person in disguise, almost also because of the size. Watching this at night in a forest will put your balls in your throat.
Oh man, this movie had such an impact on a couple of generations of Scandinavians. I've talked to multiple folks in the BDSM community who had their sexual awakening to the scene where Ronja is tied underground by the small elf people.
As a small mammal compared to that my evolutionarily developed survival instincts must be off. I want to befriend it. I assume it wants to eat children though.