Porgs
In The Last Jedi, part of the film was shot on the Irish island of Skellig Michael, which is home to many puffins. Puffins are small birds that are native to that area and have white and black feathers with colorful beaks. The director, Rian Johnson thought they would make a great addition to the realism of the set.
So the inspiration for the Porgs that are constantly appearing and annoying Cherbacca was directly from the puffins. Isn’t it great to see that real life can have an impact on even a crazy science fiction movie like Star Wars? The birds really helped enhance the entire atmosphere of the scenes they appeared in.