Lists

10 Birds That Had the Hairstyle First

May 7, 2026 by Kai Pflug No Comments

Birds have been perfecting dramatic hairstyles for millions of years. Crests, crowns, and improbable feather arrangements were already common in birds long before human fashion discovered them. Some celebrities seem to have dealt with their lack of originality by simply copying birds.

Here are ten birds that had the hairstyle first.

Great Crested Grebe – Ludwig van Beethoven

Wild side tufts and the intense look of someone who has just composed a symphony.

Crested Finchbill – Elvis Presley

The swept-back crest suggests that the barber who later worked for Elvis Presley may have started his career somewhere in southern China.

Golden Pheasant – David Bowie

A perfectly styled flame of color. Glam rock, bird edition.

Chinese Monal – Prince

Flamboyant colors suggest a bird that would absolutely have written Purple Rain if it had opposable thumbs.

Hoopoe – Ozzy Osbourne

A dramatic fan-shaped crest that erupts upward when the bird gets excited—very much the avian equivalent of heavy metal stage hair.

Andean Cock-of-the-rock – Conan O’Brien

A bold orange hairstyle that looks less grown than carefully engineered.

White-crested Laughingthrush – Boris Johnson

A spectacular crest that looks as though it has just survived a press conference and a complicated political situation.

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo – Donald Trump

A bright yellow crest that appears permanently windswept, even when there is no wind.

Dalmatian Pelican – Karl Marx

The shaggy head feathers look suspiciously like the hair of a revolutionary philosopher who has just finished writing several volumes on political economy.

Victoria Crowned Pigeon – Marie Antoinette

A lace-like feather crown that would have fitted perfectly into the 18th-century French court. Let them eat cake.

Credits:

“Dalmatian Pelican” by susie2778 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

“Victoria Crowned Pigeon” by Steve Wilson – over 10 million views Thanks !! is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Andean Cock-of-the-rock licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

Others by Kai Pflug

Written by Kai Pflug
Kai has lived in Shanghai for 22 years. He only started birding after moving to China, so he is far more familiar with Chinese birds than the ones back in his native Germany. As a birder, he considers himself strictly average and tries to make up for it with photography, which he shares on a separate website. Alas, most of the photos are pretty average as well. He hopes that few clients of his consulting firm—focused on China’s chemical industry—ever find this blog, as it might raise questions about his professional priorities. Much of his time is spent either editing posts for 10,000 Birds or cleaning the litter boxes of his numerous indoor cats. He occasionally considers writing a piece comparing the two activities.