Weird Hats That Birds Wear

I was 6 years old when I realized that birds wear hats.

It came from the Roadrunner. You know, the bird that was always foiling Wile E. Coyote's plans. I loved watching that cartoon, and I naturally thought that roadrunners were tall, long-legged, and wore hats with ornate purple feathers on their heads.

So imagine my shock on the family's road trip out West, when my parents stopped the car and pointed excitedly along the road saying, "Look, girls! A roadrunner!"

I looked, saw nothing. I stood up and leaned out the window and searched frantically. 

THIS is what I saw:

THIS is what I was looking for:

Huh??

Turns out, the real roadrunner is a fast, foot-high creature that blends amazingly into his desert surroundings. He has a tiny tuft on his head for a hat...and that's about it. No purple plumes anywhere.

Well!  Another childhood belief utterly smashed.  But I found out there are other birds out there with hats that are unbelievable. Some are pretty, some are scary, and some are just...indescribable.

So here they are, weird hats that bird wear!

First, the pretty hats:

That Tufted Titmouse is just so cute.


Now the hats of royalty:

 

Mmmm, beautiful!

Some very silly hats:

Hah.  I would have named that Kingfisher the Court Jester Kingfisher.   :)

Here are some pretty scary hats:

Those guys look very....hungry

And some hats that are a bit hard to believe:

Crazy!

So how about this bird below and his weird hat?  Do you know what bird he is?  Leave a comment if you do...