Lists

Ten Birds That Look Like They Were Designed by a Committee

April 30, 2026 by Kai Pflug No Comments

“The best committee is a committee of three, with two absent,” is a quote commonly attributed to Winston Churchill. Evolution, unfortunately, did not always follow this advice — and the resulting subcommittees, amendments, and members insisting on additional features have led to the bird species shown below.

Hoatzin
The classic example of a bird assembled from surplus inventory. Reptilian head, prehistoric crest, cow-grade digestion, and a tail that looks collectively negotiated.

Eurasian Wryneck
Originally designed as a woodpecker. Subsequent revisions introduced flexibility, camouflage, and what appears to be reptilian influence.

Shoebill
A stork, but with a bill apparently sourced from a Dutch footwear company.

Standardwing Bird-of-paradise
A competent bird, later fitted with decorative wing standards because somebody in the design department liked wings.

Black Skimmer
A perfectly normal tern, except that the beak was manufactured to different specifications.

Secretarybird
Crane legs attached to an eagle, hairstyle designed separately.

Rhinoceros Hornbill
Someone asked whether one bill was truly enough.

Large Frogmouth
The design process began with the mouth and ended shortly thereafter.

Painted Stork
A structurally sound wader, later subjected to dubious colour enhancement.

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
A sensibly designed glossy passerine – until the tail department provided its input.

Photos by Kai Pflug, except:
“Hoatzin – Manu NP – Perù 9203 (15525812066)” by Francesco Veronesi from Italy is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

“The Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger), the coolest bird in the world.” by Terry Foote is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

“Shoebill couple1” by frank wouters from antwerpen, belgium , België , Belgique is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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.