History Main / FeatheredDragons

* ''FinalFantasyXIV'': The great wyrm Hraesvelgr has feathery white wings [[GoodWingsEvilWings in marked contrast]] to the black, spiky leather wings of his brother Nidhogg.

* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'': Gatomon's final form, Holydramon, is an Asian dragon with five pairs of feathered wings.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'': Downplayed with Valoo. His wings are made of feathers (as in each wing is just three very large feathers), but his body is covered in scales.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'': Aquamentus, a peculiar {{Unicorn}}-like dragon from [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI the first game]] and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Seasons]]'', is usually depicted with birdlike wings.

* Two of the dragon breeds in ''VideoGame/FlightRising'':

* ''VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy'': Several of the Elder Dragons were redesigned with feathered wings, although many of them retain the traditional bat-like wings (and one dragon, Zander, even has wings made of crystal!

* Several of the Elder Dragons in ''VideoGame/SpyroReignitedTrilogy'' were redesigned with feathered wings, though many of them retain the traditional bat-like wings (and one dragon, Zander, even has wings made of crystal!

* The Telethia from ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' is a large dragon covered in feathers and scales, and is claimed to be the fabled guardian of Mira. It shows up a few times through the game to save the humans from disasterous scenarios, its scales have curative properties (which it only gives to those it deems worthy), and it only attacks you in self defense (meaning you have to attack it first.)
* ''VideoGame/ArkSurvivalEvolved'': Previous [=DLCs=] introduced [[OurDragonsAreDifferent wyverns]], in the [[HollowWorld Aberration dlc]] there are no large flying creatures, however, there is a wyvern equivalent in the Rock Drake, a large reptile with plumage on it's head, legs and tail that uses the feathers on it's front legs and body to [[NotQuiteFlight glide]] across the caverns.

* Several of the Elder Dragons in ''VideoGame/SpyroTheReignitedTrilogy'' were redesigned with feathered wings, though many of them retain the traditional bat-like wings (and one dragon, Zander, even has wings made of crystal!

* ''VideoGame/{{Lunar}}'': All of the adults dragons in the series have feathers.

See also FeatheredSerpent, for another sort of feathered, reptilian beasts with their own cultural baggage (specifically, they call back to feathered serpent deities present in many Mesoamerican religions); CatlikeDragons, for another portrayal of dragons with the characteristics of real-life animals; GoodWingsEvilWings; and DragonsAreDivine.

* Both the [[https://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Nova_Dragon_(Final_Fantasy_IX) Nova Dragon]] and [[https://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Silver_Dragon_(Final_Fantasy_IX) Silver Dragon]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' have this appearance. You fight them both as bosses and Kuja uses the latter to travel throughout a good portion of the game.

[[OurDragonsAreDifferent Dragons]] have changed a lot over history. From their origins as the giant snakes and serpents that guarded treasures and sacred places in Myth/ClassicalMythology, they evolved into the monstrous {{Satanic Archetype}}s of Medieval myth, the fiery [[Creator/JRRTolkien Tolkienian]] engines of destruction and the awe-inspiring godlike beasts of modern fiction. In recent fantasy art and fiction, some dragons are undergoing a new evolution -- they're sprouting feathers.

** To signal that this is a more benevolent creature than most dragons. This is a direct application of GoodWingsEvilWings -- because people tend to like birds more than they like bats, swapping out a dragon's chiropteran membranes for avian pinions is a quick and convenient way of making it come across as more beautiful, benevolent and likeable to the audience. Even when these creatures are evil, they tend to be so in a LightIsNotGood sense rather than the monstrous evil of traditional dragons.
** To play up an association with ElementalPowers such as [[BlowYouAway air]] or [[ShockAndAwe electricity]]. It's popular in modern fiction to have elementally themed or aligned dragons, and depicting dragons tied to sky-themed elements as having physical traits of the animals most strongly associated with air and the sky is a good way to visually reinforce such themes.
** Dragons are reptiles, and sometimes [[DinosaursAreDragons they're dinosaurs as well]], and the scientific consensus that many dinosaurs had feathers is beginning to percolate into popular culture. Works tying dragons to the dinosaurs may depict at least some of the wyrms as feathered as part and parcel of the fact that the dinosaurs most likely to be associated with them, the predatory theropods, were primarily feathery animals themselves.

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* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'''s Tarkir block brings us Ojutai in the page image, and the rest of his brood is similarly feathered.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'': Downplayed with Valoo. He wings are made of feathers (as in each wing is just three very large feathers), but his body is covered in scales.

* One very obscure creature from Japanese art and folklore, the ''shifun'', [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kuniyoshi_Utagawa,_Dragon_2.jpg resembles an eastern dragon with the wings, tail and claws of a bird]] -- or alternatively a giant bird with a dragon's head.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': Reshiram -- on of the two legendary dragons of Unova -- has this sort of appearance. Although the art style makes it difficult to tell if it's covered in feathers or fur, the fact that it has wings and is often show flying does tend to suggest feathers.
** Altaria, another Dragon Pokémon, has lots of puffy cloud-like feathers.