This Fluffy Little Dragon Is Actually A Bird

So magical ✨🐉

By Caitlin Jill Anders

Published on Jan 21, 2022 at 3:50 PM
In a lot of our favorite fantasy movies, there are fantastical animals in all sorts of bright colors who look so magical, and it’s hard not to wish they were actually real.
Well, great eared nightjars look like they’re straight out of a fantasy movie, and lucky for us, they’re very real.
Great eared nightjars are found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, and they’re nocturnal, so they roam the forests under the cover of darkness. Besides the way they look, something unique about them is that they make their nests on the forest floor, and their babies are well-camouflaged by all of the leaves.

Shutterstock.com/Narupon Nimpaiboon

For whatever reason, these birds barely look like birds at all. They look more like fluffy little dragons or creatures from the Harry Potter movies. They’re adorable and delightful to look at either way and definitely help to bring our favorite fantasy worlds to life.
There are other species of nightjar out there, too, but none are quite as unique as these little dragons. The great eared nightjar is truly one of a kind.

Shutterstock.com/NABA CHOUDHURY

So if someone ever looks up to the sky and swears they saw a dragon fly by, we shouldn’t be so quick to discount them. It definitely could have been one of these guys spreading a little magic.