Lists

Five Birds That Look Like Dinosaurs

July 16, 2026 by Kai Pflug No Comments

Start with a note for the sticklers who will – reading the headline – itch to write down a comment along the lines of “all birds are dinosaurs”: please keep that comment for yourself. And think about how search engine optimization would be affected if the headline was changed to “Five Birds that are dinosaurs and even look like dinosaurs, which is not very surprising as they are dinosaurs”. Thank you for your attention.

Where were we? Right. For some reason, whenever there is a list of weird birds to be prepared, the Hoatzin is almost certain to appear on it. In this case, because it looks like a dinosaur (see above).

In my own birdwatching, the resemblance was the most striking for juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons, as seen in Shanghai.

Southern Cassowaries are not only flightless (good for dinosaur imitation) but also have the big legs, small wings, and robust bodies associated with dinosaurs. Moreover, they give a bit of a Jurassic Park vibe as they are capable of inflicting serious injury, with at least one documented fatality. The news of this event gushed over the “with knife-like claws” of the bird.

The Great Curassow looks like a feathered dinosaur reconstructed from bones by a taxidermist who, in his spare time, also creates expressionist paintings. And indeed, a Facebook page titled Wildlife Planet claims, “This bird looks like it walked straight out of the age of dinosaurs.”

Finally, the Greater Roadrunner resembles a Velociraptor dinosaur from Jurassic Park. In an article written by the digital editorial director of Audubon magazine, he writes, “Roadrunners look and move like modern dinosaurs, as if they are tapping into some long-lost remnant of velociraptor DNA”.

So, dear comment writers, better address your “birds are dinosaurs” comments to him, not to me.

Photo Credits:

“Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin)” by David Cook Wildlife Photography is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

“Hoatzins in Brazil” by Cláudio Dias Timm from Rio Grande do Sul is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

“4489ex P900 Southern Cassowary” by jjjj56cp is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

“Great Curassow” by dreed41 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

“Geococcyx californianus” by drumguy8800 (xvisionx.com) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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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.