History Main / ShoulderSizedDragon

* ''WesternAnimation/DragonsTheNineRealms'' has the Bubblehorn, a tiny dragon with a horn like a unicorn.

* ''ComicBook/DisneyKingdoms'': As is the case in the Journey Into Imagination ride, the titular dragon character of the ''Figment'' comics is small enough to sit on someone's shoulder.

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'': Pina serves as this to Silica, as a small dragon familiar who perches on her shoulder. Having a companion like her is incredibly rare in the eponymous VRMMO, and Pina continued to follow Silica after she escaped the game of death.

In folklore, both Eastern and Western dragons are invariably [[GiantFlyer gigantic]]. In modern fantasy, however, it's common to see miniature draconic creatures as well. These are usually around the size of crows or hawks, but otherwise resemble standard Western dragons. They can almost always fly, but they may or may not be able to breathe fire and/or use other magical abilities, and like their larger cousins, they may or may not be sapient and able to speak. They're mostly harmless and usually rather cute -- ReptilesAreAbhorrent almost never applies. Settings that have these critters usually have full-sized dragons as well; occasionally, the Shoulder-Sized Dragons may even just be [[GiganticAdultsTinyBabies ordinary dragon hatchlings that have not yet attained their full size]]. More commonly, though, they're a separate but presumably related species, not unlike the relationship between house cats and [[PantheraAwesome big cats]]. Indeed, they'll often [[CatLikeDragons act like cats]] themselves, even doing things like purring when happy or arching their backs when upset.

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'': Pina serves as this to Silica, as a small dragon familiar who perches on her shoulder. Having a companion like her is incredibly rare in the eponymous VRMMO, and Pina continued to follow Silica after she escapd the game of death.

* PlayedWith in ''Literature/TheBeginningAfterTheEnd''. Sylvie was initially a straight example of this trope when she first hatched, being a dragon small enough that she could ride on a seven-year old Arthur's shoulder. As both of them grew, Sylvie began to use her shapeshifting powers to accompany Arthur around without exposing her true form, and her usual form is that of a [[CatlikeDragons cat-sized furry creature]]. As such, she is a dragon that can still fit on Arthur's shoulder albeit via shapeshifting.

* ''Literature/AMemoirByLadyTrent'': Sparklings, diminutive six-legged relative of dragons, aren't much bigger than a songbird and used to be considered a type of insect that only so happened to resemble true dragons.

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Dany has three, of the hatchling variety. They grow out of shoulder-dragon size-range pretty quickly. Later on, a character asks her why he never sees her with a dragon any more. He's needling her (she's locked them up out of fear that they'll hunt humans if left to hunt freely, and he knows it), but she still has an excellent deadpan response.

* ''Literature/TortallUniverse'': Skysong, aka Kitten, is a baby dragon. In centuries she'll grow quite large indeed, but for now she's just an infant, and often perches on her human foster parents' shoulders.

** Among the varieties of "true" dragons, only the smallest breeds -- black, brass, copper and white -- have Tiny-sized wyrmlings that can conceivably perch on a Medium-sized person's shoulder. Few willingly would. Gold and red dragon wyrmlings, meanwhile, hatch at Medium-size, so a halfling or gnome character can [[DragonRider ride on]] ''[[DragonRider them]]''.

*** The two most notable kinds are pseudodragons, cat-sized, telepathic creatures known for [[HeadPet riding on their companion's head]], and [[FairyDragons faerie dragons]], which have butterfly wings and a permanent mischievous grin. Both are Good-aligned, but pseudodragons tend to be {{Spoiled Brat}}s and faerie dragons are tricksters by nature, so they occasionally act out.

* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'': ''TabletopGame/GURPSDragons'' and ''GURPS Fantasy Bestiary'' give game stats for and a description of shoulder dragons, referred to as "petty drakes". The books opine that their occurrence is a side-effect of dragons becoming increasingly common and familiar in media, leading to them eventually being shorn of size and aggressiveness to serve as pets and companions. The statted version can breathe a small but hot jet of fire, and can use its foreclaws as hands. Some live in the wild in small family groups, but they are often caught and tamed as companions and {{Familiar}}s.

** Pest drakes are the result of a failed attempt at breeding a new type of diminutive dragon familiars. The resulting creatures are about a foot from nose to tail-tip and never weigh more than two pounds or so. They're unsuitable as familiars, but are often kept as alternatives to messenger pigeons and as racing animals. They also form immense, squabbling flocks in cities, much the same way as feral pigeons do.

* ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'': In G1 several princesses came with small, young dragons. The dragons have been depicted as either pets or as servants depending on the medium, but they are sentient and can talk. Majesty's dragon Spike is the only one that appears in future generations.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies'': The ''Gorod Krovi'' map has dragons storming Stalingrad, and with some effort you can obtain a dragon egg. This egg eventually hatches, and with the super-powered "Gauntlet of Siegfried" you can carry the baby dragon around as a powerful weapon, capable of [[BreathWeapon flame breath]], {{Ground Pound}}s, and overall [[RuleOfCool badassery]].

* ''Website/DragonCave'' has a few among its plethora of reptilian wild-life. There are the Night and Day Glories, which are only the size of kittens when full-grown, the Sweetlings, which can ride on a human's shoulders, and several breeds of Pygmy dragons, which are housecat-sized.

* ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'': Dojo Kanojo Cho, who can transform from a tiny dragon that can sit of people's shoulders to a giant one.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draco_(genus) Draco]], or flying dragons, are the genus of lizards which can [[NotQuiteFlight glide for several meters]] through the use of flaps of skin supported by their elongated ribs. The largest of them are the size of 40 cm. Reportedly, they don't make good pets, though.

* ''Film/{{Prehysteria}}'' features a variant in the form of a shoulder-sized [[PteroSoarer pterosaur]].

Why? Well, when it comes to BadassAdorable [[NonHumanSidekick Non-Human Sidekicks]], it [[OurDragonsAreDifferent doesn't get much better]] than a [[FunSize pint-sized]] version of [[Literature/TheHobbit Smaug]]. In any work where these creatures exist, one of them will be kept by a major character as a [[CoolPet pet]], {{Familiar}} or BondCreature. The trope name comes from the fact that they are almost invariably found perching on their human companion's shoulder in the ParrotPetPosition. When sharing a universe with {{Dragon Rider}}s, these guys can even be depicted as {{Instant Messenger Pigeon}}s.

Subtrope of OurDragonsAreDifferent and CoolPet. See also ABoyAndHisX and LoyalAnimalCompanion, as well as FunSize, FairyDragons and CatlikeDragons.

* ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'': Dojo Kanojo Cho, who can transform from a tiny dragon to a giant one.

* ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'': Every animated incarnation has featured a baby dragon named Spike, though each has been a distinct character. Generally, he tends to be rather short even compared to the ponies.
** In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'' he's pink and green, voiced by Creator/CharlieAdler, and had a HeelFaceTurn after serving as a bumbling minion to the villain Tirac.
** In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyG3'', he's bluish-purple and orange, voiced by Creator/BrianDrummond, and is found in a cave and [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld awakened from his 1000-year nap]].
** In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', he's purple and green, voiced by Creator/CathyWeseluck, was hatched by Twilight Sparkle as part of her [[WizardingSchool Magic School]] entrance exam, and now serves as her ward and assistant. He's small enough to be able to ride on the ponies' backs, and frequently hitches rides on Twilight in this manner.

* ''WesternAnimation/PocketDragonsAdventures'': Essentially, the adventures of several, sapient palm-sized little lizards. They aren't quite shoulder-sized, but they do literally fit into your pocket!

* ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'' introduces to the franchise Friedrich, a baby silver dragon under the care of [[TheBeastmaster Caro]]. While he's in this form most of the time, he could also be unsealed to become a more adult dragon for combat and transport purposes.

%%* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'': Pina serves as this to Silica.

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]

* ''Series/Merlin2008'': Aithusa in Season 4. She's a baby then and quite a bit larger after the time jump between Seasons 4 and 5.

-->-- ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Dragons''

* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'': ''GURPS Dragons'' and ''GURPS Fantasy Bestiary'' give game stats for and a description of shoulder dragons, referred to as "petty drakes". The books opine that their occurrence is a side-effect of dragons becoming increasingly common and familiar in media, leading to them eventually being shorn of size and aggressiveness to serve as pets and companions. The statted version can breathe a small but hot jet of fire, and can use its foreclaws as hands. Some live in the wild in small family groups, but they are often caught and tamed as companions and {{Familiar}}s.

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Dany has three, of the hatchling variety. They grow out of shoulder-dragon size-range pretty quickly.

* ''ComicBook/WizardsOfMickey'': Donald Duck's companion, Fafnir, is an infant dragon the size of a small dog, still fat from reaching the size and intellect of his adult conspecifics.

** "Literature/CutMeAnotherQuillMisterFizz": At the end, [[spoiler:the dragon expends so much energy to survive the battle that she's reduced to the size of a human finger]].

* "The Better Mousetrap": A baby dragon small enough to fit in a coffee can is lent to a man who needs to [[MundaneUtility rid his apartment of mice]].

* ''ComicBook/DisneyKingdoms'': As is the case in the Journey Into Imagination ride, the titular character of the ''Figment'' comics is small enough to sit on someone's shoulder.

->''Dragons were now in danger of becoming too familiar, even cozy. One sign the dragon was in trouble as a true monster, even threatened with terminal decline, was the appearance of the cute “shoulder dragon” -– a creature with all the traditional attributes of dragonkind except size and convincing ferocity.''

* ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'': in dragon form, Jeep is this size, and is usually to be found perching on Hakkai's shoulder.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': A number of cards depict diminutive dragons, wether as young specimens of larger breeds (such as [[https://scryfall.com/card/cma/81/dragon-whelp Dragon Whelp]] and [[https://scryfall.com/card/bbd/173/dragon-hatchling Dragon Hatchling]]) or as ones that get no larger than that as adults (such as [[https://scryfall.com/card/iko/211/sprite-dragon Sprite Dragon]]).

* 'Literature/LoneWolf'': In ''The Skull of Agarash'', Captain Khadro, pirate ruler of the Lakuri Isles, has a small winged reptile looking like a tiny dragon as PirateParrot. [[spoiler:It is in fact a Liganim, the shapeshifting {{Familiar}} of a Nadziran, the [[BlackMagic Black Wizard]] currently [[DemonicPossession possessing Khadro]].]]