birdlike

Birdlike is an adjective describing characteristics that resemble those of birds. It may refer to physical traits such as feathers, wings, and beaks, as well as behaviors like flight or perching, and to appearances that evoke avian form.

In biology, birdlike traits denote features commonly associated with birds. This includes plumage, a keeled sternum for flight muscle attachment in flying species, hollow bones, air sacs, and sometimes endothermy. The term is used to compare organisms with avian features or to describe stages in development or fossil forms that display feathered or wing-like characteristics.

In paleontology, many non-avian dinosaurs are described as birdlike because they possessed feathers, beaked or winged forelimbs, or other skeletal adaptations reminiscent of birds. The term often reflects both phylogenetic relationships (birds derived from theropod dinosaurs) and functional parallels. Archaeopteryx is a classic example frequently cited as birdlike for its combination of avian and dinosaurian traits.

In literature and general usage, birdlike can describe prose or imagery that evokes birds—qualities such as swiftness, lightness, or delicacy. It can also describe characters or beings with avian features in fiction, such as birdlike humanoids or plumage-clad deities, used metaphorically rather than as a scientific classification.

See also: avian, avifauna, feather, plumage, theropod, Archaeopteryx, ornithology.