Line #189 Main/FeatherFingers


1	[[quoteright:350:[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/feather_fingers_3868.jpg]]]]
2
3	->''"Hey, I'm '''trying''' to pass the potatoes! My forelimbs are as useless as yours!"''
4	-->-- '''A T. Rex''', ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide''
5
6	[[AsYouKnow You may have noticed]] that many non-primate animals have extremely un-humanlike limbs. They may have wings, they may have fins, they may have pincers like a lobster, long claws like a sloth, or hooves like a cow.
7
8	But because [[MostWritersAreHuman Most Animators Are Human]], they have a tendency to fall back on making the very different anatomy of animal characters -- even those who [[TalkingAnimal aren't, strictly speaking, anthropomorphic]] -- do things they'd be physically incapable of in order to closely mimic human actions. Therefore, every animal forelimb, no matter how little it resembles a human hand, is prehensile.
9
10	The {{Trope Namer}}s are all the [[CivilizedAnimal otherwise non-anthro]] [[FunnyAnimal cartoon birds who can hold things in their primary wing feathers]], such as [[Franchise/{{Peanuts}} Woodstock]]. The primary wing feathers ''sort of'' [[RuleOfPerception look like fingers]], so naturally in cartoons they act like fingers. Not a heavily modified and specialized extension of their body covering (meaning that this makes as much sense as PrehensileHair). This is less jarring when done with hawks and eagles as their wings are wider and their wing feather tips stick out. This version tends to go hand-in-hand (sorry) with AcrophobicBird.
11
12	One variant of Feather Fingers has the wings be basically arms when not in flight, but be true classic Feather Fingers wings in flight.
13
14	There is a variant of this trope in which thumbs appear on the front paws of many cats and dogs (and sometimes other animals) when grasping something or gesturing, but disappear when the front paws are just used for four-legged walking or otherwise in a default pose.
15
16	This variant is sometimes applied to characters with FingerlessHands, characters who don't have (apparent) fingers.
17
18	Another variant is when bird characters can bend their wings forward like arms, something that is physically impossible in real life.
19
20	This is usually the very first step in a character/series' AnthropomorphicShift. It's just easier for animators to draw a character playing the drums or baking cookies using the body motions based on human references. It takes a hell of a lot of dedication to avert this trope, as it involves having to stop and really think about how the heck [[ComicStrip/BloomCounty a penguin could possibly manipulate a tuba]].
21
22	Related to TailfinWalking, where the fins of a sea animal which are clearly not designed for standing are used like legs.
23
24	See also CartoonyEyes, ToothyBird, MouthyBird, AnatomyAnomaly, InvisibleAnatomy and SuddenAnatomy. Compare the far more common HumanlikeHandAnatomy, which is when the artist just draws the animal with hands instead of paws/hooves/wings to begin with. For, shall we say, a less family-friendly human-like anatomical modification of non-humanlike animals, see NonMammalMammaries...
25
26	----
27	!!Examples:
28
29	[[foldercontrol]]
30
31	[[folder:Advertising]]
32	* In a DQ ad, a "rock and roll falcon" gives the heavy metal/evil eye sign with both wings.
33	* In an Aflac insurance ad, the company's duck mascot jumps rope as part of his physical therapy, holding the rope with the tips of his wings.
34	* Advertising/TommyMcAnairey: How else could Tommy play his banjo?
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Animation]]
38	* ''Animation/KungFuWa'': After Manipulens posseses a seagull, he briefly wonders if he still has fingers when he sees the finger-like tips of his wings.
39	* The ''Animation/MotuPatlu'' episode "Super Murgiyan" is about Motu starting a business off of selling chicken eggs and overfeeding his chickens Dr. Jhatka's special powder, causing the chickens to become super-powered. The super-powered chickens use their wings like hands to attack Motu and Patlu's gang, drive around in Boxer's car, and throw eggs at Inspector Chingum.
40	* ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'': In ''Pleasant Goat Fun Class: Travel Around the World'' episode 24, the goats travel to Argentina and meet some anthropomorphic birds who dance the Tango with them. The birds use their wings like hands to hold onto them.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
44	* ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}'': Washimi, an anthropomorphic secretary bird, naturally has these and is capable of carrying things like folders perfectly fine.
45	* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': Bishop Mozgus' [[OneWingedAngel stone angel form]] has an {{Exaggerated}} version: not only can his wingtips clench their feathers into fists as if they were fingers, but each of his wings' ''individual feathers'' can do this, which basically gives him dozens of fists with which to pummel Guts all at once. He doesn't particularly need them for grabbing things since he still has his human arms too; the wing fists are just for RapidFireFisticuffs.
46	* Subverted with Tama the tiger in ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler''. Despite [[RuleOfFunny apparently being a certified boiler engineer]], Tama clearly has extreme difficulty in manipulating controls of any kind or holding things without shredding them. Which is kinda funny since even big cats can sheath their claws. Usually only doing big stretches do claws automatically pop out.
47	* Played with in ''Manga/MonsterMusume''. Papi the harpy can grab and hold things with her wings -- which have small thumbs on the second joint -- but it's stated a couple of times that they're still much less dexterous than actual hands (for example, she can't use chopsticks). This almost ends up getting played for tragedy when she can't hold onto Suu as she falls off a bridge, though thankfully Kimihito catches her instead.
48	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
49	** Perhaps justified with Tony Tony Chopper, the Devil Fruit-enabled human-reindeer, who has obvious hooves, but never seems to have any trouble doing human tasks that would seem to require hands, even play [[http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Hito_Hito_no_Mi#Trivia Rock Paper Scissors]].
50	** Post-timeskip Franky averts this by having small hands extend from the palms of his much larger hands, which would be too bulky to do any delicate shipwrighting.
51	** The Harpy Monet is seen reading a newspaper by holding it between her primary feathers. However, this can be justified because she's an artificial harpy made by Law (he swapped her limbs for wings and talons), whose powers follow logical sense ''very'' loosely.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Comic Books]]
55	* ''ComicBook/TheBeano'': Big Eggo, an ostrich and the original cover star, used this trope to try and appear more human. It didn't work, and the character was later replaced by a more human bear.
56	%%* ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'':
57	%%** A story arc has the non-human (and mostly non-anthromorphic) Fables staging a revolution, with the intent of fighting to regain their homelands. They force a Fable blacksmith to adapt human weapons so that they're capable of using them.
58	%%** When an election is held, Rose Red also addresses this when the votes are being submitted. If a non-human fable is unable to write their own name and turn in their own ballot they are to have one who can do so for them. The fable is then to verify that the ballot was filled in to their satisfaction.
59	* ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'': The creations of [[Literature/TheIslandOfDoctorMoreau Dr. Moreau]] -- who are twisted parodies of existing FunnyAnimal characters -- are very anthropomorphic, but the plotline dwells heavily on how unnatural and physically painful it is for them to walk on their hind legs and imitate other human behaviors. Furthermore, the comic book was faithful to the source, as this is a major point of contention in the original novel as well.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
63	* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': In one strip Calvin and Hobbes start repeatedly zapping each other with a transmogrifier pistol for revenge. No matter what form each is in, he's still able to work the trigger -- the most extreme case being when Calvin is a ''flower'', apparently having prehensile leaves.
64	* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'': Gary Larson liked to subvert this, even though he was just as likely to play it straight based upon the RuleOfFunny.
65	** In one comic, two cows were staring at a ringing phone, unable to answer it due to lacking opposable thumbs.
66	** Another had several snakes wanting to let another snake in, but being not quite sure how to work the doorknob. (Don't ask [[FridgeLogic how the other snakes got inside in the first place...]])
67	** In yet another comic, a T. rex bemoans its inability to pass the potatoes due to its tiny arms, providing the page quote.
68	* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'': Woodstock's wings work as hands. He can even type.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
72	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * The Gabble sisters and their Uncle Waldo from ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats''.
73	* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'', [[PollyWantsAMicrophone Iago]] has these, using them both to gesture while talking and to hold objects. He also at one point forms the Feather Fingers into a ''fist'' and hits Jafar in the head with them.
74	* Done with a variation in the ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'' movies. The characters don't have any appendages ''at all,'' yet they manage to write, paint, operate machinery, and hold things. This is usually done with a combination of prehensile antennae, prehensile windshield wipers, or clamps.
75	%%* ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'': Nigel the pelican's primary feathers are fully rendered in extreme detail, so they are practically a LampshadeHanging on how odd this looks.%%ZCE -- how is he an example?
76	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * All the birds in ''WesternAnimation/TheFirstSnowOfWinter''.
77	* In ''[[WesternAnimation/TheMindsEye The Gate to The Mind's Eye]]'' segment "Nuvogue" submission "Laser Broadway", there are dancing birds. Their wings appear to be as versatile as human hands. They can be seen holding {{UsefulNotes/LaserDisc}}s[[note]]"Laser Broadway" was originally a [=LaserDisc=] commercial, that's why[[/note]], microphones, playing guitars, even throwing hats. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] as the birds are MechanicalLifeforms. And [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything they don't even attempt to fly]].
78	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * The cows in ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'' can't really hold anything in their hooves, so the animators gave them prehensile tails and ''tail tufts'' instead.
79	* ''Franchise/KungFuPanda'' has mixed uses of this trope. Ducks and geese are able to use their feathers like fingers, but Crane (the crane) has realistic wings and uses his feet and beak to move objects. [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2 Lord Shen]] (a peacock) is a combination of the two, using both his wings and his feet at times.
80	* The owls in ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfTheGuardiansTheOwlsOfGaHoole'' use their feet rather than their wings to manipulate objects.
81	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989'': Scuttle is one of the TropeNamers, having Feather Fingers that look like hawk's wingtips (even though he is a gull), which he gestures and carries a "dinglehopper" and other human items with.
82	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Migration}}'': Zigzagged interestingly, despite this trope being prevalent with most animated birds. The Mallards typically use their feet, (despite webbed feet being impractical for this purpose), or bills to pick up and manipulate objects, and only use their wings for this purpose on rare occasion(Uncle Dan picking up a sandwich for example).
83	%%* Sebastian in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndThePea''.
84	* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/{{Rio}}'' where the birds are realistically shown grasping and manipulating objects with their feet, but their wings sometimes make gestures that are a little...anatomically questionable, such as crumpling up their primaries to make a fist, or gesturing with their wings while in flight ([[StationaryWings with them staying airborne even when they stop flapping]])!
85	* Puss in Boots (and the other cats) in the ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}'' series has normal cat paws but with manual dexterity equal to that of a human.
86	* Played straight in the [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]] of ''The Trumpet of the Swan''. We mention it here because the book had actually [[AvertedTrope averted]] this trope and had the swan play with his feet. This was a major plot point in the book, in fact. Louis at one point [[spoiler:asks his [[LionsAndTigersAndHumansOhMy Token Human Friend]] to cut apart the webbing between the toes of one of his feet, thus severely handicapping his ability to swim and fly in exchange for being a more dexterous trumpet player.]]
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Literature]]
90	* ''Literature/DungeonCrawlerCarl'': Mordecai's native form is a Skyfowl, and on the fifth floor, he's transformed back into something similar (although a different subspecies). Since Skyfowl don't have hands, just wings, Carl isn't sure how he can keep making potions, but Mordecai assures him that he can brew "better than ever". How he does it is never explained.
91	* Played with in the ''Literature/{{Spellsinger}}'' novels. While the series' intelligent birds have an unlikely degree of manual dexterity with their "prehensile wingtips" (as the books repeatedly say), weapons and tools with special handles -- hollow cones they can tuck their feathers' tips inside -- are designed for their use. Averted for equines and other quadrupeds, who can't use their forelimbs as hands at all.
92	* In Creator/TimothyZahn's ''Literature/HandOfThrawn'' duology, the President of the New Republic is a [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Calibop Calibop]], an avian sentient species with a number of equine features. They also have wings and prehensile feather tips; the President is shown manipulating keys on a lectern and later signing the Imperial-New Republic peace treaty with Pellaeon. Granted, this is pretty much the trope played straight with the caveat that [[BizarreNonhumanBiology Calibops are aliens.]]
93	%%* The Ythrians, a bird-like alien race from several of Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/TechnicHistory'' stories, look basically like huge birds of prey. They do not need to pick up anything with their wings however because their highly efficient respiratory system allows them to hover for long periods of time without getting tired, allowing them to use their feet to manipulate objects.
94	* [[Literature/{{Babar}} Babar the Elephant]], of Jean de Brunhoff's stories, normally uses his trunk to manipulate things, much like an actual elephant would. However, Babar (and all the other elephants of Celesteville, for that matter) walk upright on two legs. This means that there are instances of them using their forelimbs like hands -- even though their "hands" look identical to those of quadrupedal elephants, completely lacking in fingers. How this is done is a mystery. Additionally, because they seem capable of using both their forelimbs and trunks to manipulate things, elephants in Babar's world effectively have three limbs that can be used to hold and handle things.%%De Brunoff's later stories, as well as the TV and film tie-ins take this a step further. Quadrupeds living alongside the elephants, such as Lord Rataxes and the other rhinoceroses have hands with fingers. Since Rataxes' troops are typically [[CardCarryingVillain Card Carrying Villains]], they will often have claw-like hands. This is also true of hippos in Babar's world.
95	* In ''Literature/GulliversTravels'' the Houyhnhnms, basically sentient horses, are mentioned to have some kind of nearly invisible dewclaw near the hoof. Gulliver once gives one a needle and she threads it effortlessly. The fact that a horse would have a lot of trouble getting and keeping even one hoof up even standing still, and they aren't really equipped to see their own hooves very well, doesn't come up.
96	* ''Literature/DrFranklinsIsland'': Subverted. Miranda Fallow, turned into a bird, has wings with a look of hands to their tips, but those are just feathers. She has to manipulate things with her feet and beak.
97	* ''Literature/SummerInOrcus'': Defied. The narration makes a point of mentioning that Reginald Hoopoe's wings aren't manipulatory appendages; his feet double as hands instead.
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
101	* The Tenga Warriors in ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' actually have clawed hands at the ends of their wings.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
105	* With thousands of cards representing the creatures of ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', and hundreds representing equipment of some kind, the questions of how a Graceful Antelope wields the Sword of Kaldra, or how a Wall of Fire wears a Coral Helm, were asked ''long'' ago, and mostly explained away with, [[AWizardDidIt well...]]
106	* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'': Neo-Spacian [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Neo-Spacian_Air_Hummingbird Air Hummingbird]] avoids feather fingers by having his [[WingedHumanoid wings come out of his back]]. He has talon hands instead.
107	* Performing tasks with two thumbless forepaws and a mouth is a common challenge in ''TabletopGame/BunniesAndBurrows''. The ''GURPS'' book even suggests a puppet to demonstrate more complicated actions.
108	* ''TabletopGame/HcSvntDracones'': Most Avian [[BeastMan Vectors]] can form their leading feathers into hand shapes, but they're only good for body language. They do, however, have actual hands on the inside of their wings.
109	* ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'': The Neo-Avian morph (an umbrella term for both uplifted ravens and African Grey Parrots) explicitly have their wings redesigned through genetic engineering, giving them sudo-hands around the "elbow" section of the wing.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Video Games]]
113	* ''VideoGame/SacredOdysseyRiseOfAyden'' has Mycek and his fellow hawk-men, whose hands are wings and with their feathers in place of fingers.
114	* ''Franchise/StarFox'': While Falco Lombardi plays this trope straight as can be, it's especially noticeable since he appears to be the only avian character in the WorldOfFunnyAnimals setting, with everyone else being mammals or reptiles with [[HumanlikeHandAnatomy human-like arms]] [[HumanlikeFootAnatomy and legs]] (even [[PigMan Pigma Dengar]], who should have hooves). Conversely, this is largely averted with the pterosaur-like [=CloudRunners=] from ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', whose wings lack grasping fingers entirely and are used solely for flying.
115	* ''VideoGame/GodzillaUnleashed'': A rather unusual subversion takes place. Both [[OurDragonsAreDifferent King Ghidorah]] and [[WeCanRebuildHim Mecha-King Ghidorah]], who both just happen to be three-headed dragons, use two of their heads/mouths as arms/hands to pick things up. Likewise, [[GiantFlyer Rodan]] just picks things up with his talons. Then again, this is in line with some of the films, in which Ghidora's heads are essentially hand puppets.
116	* ''VideoGame/RuneScape'': The penguins have no fingers. So in the quest where you have to teach them to make music (for the National Anthem, no less), you have to make instruments that do not require fingers. You end up with a cowbell and a bongo.
117	%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample * ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'': In ''Franchise/TheLionKing'' level. As mentioned elsewhere, it is a perfect storm of FurryConfusion. Not least because we finally get to see what ''WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck'' looks like as a non-Anthropomorphic bird; he has functioning wings, can fly, and carries his staff in his claws. Usually he has [[http://i36.tinypic.com/30ur9rm.png very human-like hands.]] Likewise, when Sora becomes a non-Anthro lion ([[LionsAndTigersAndHumansOhMy it is a long story]]), he carries the Keyblade in his teeth. In the "opening the next path" cutscene, Sora holds the Keyblade with his suddenly prehensile tail in order to aim at the target.
118	* ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'': Zig-zagged with Kazooie. In the first game's epilogue, she has no trouble holding a mug. In ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'', however, the lack of proper hands is a gameplay element, as she cannot hang from ledges or climb ropes (then again, she can fly, so...) In ''Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts'', this goes back to being played straight, as Kazooie holds a wrench for most of the game.
119	%%* ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'': [[EmbarrassingFirstName Pecker]] might be a justified example, as he is a MixAndMatchCritter known as a "monkaw", a monkey/macaw hybrid.%%How is he an example?
120	* ''Creator/RandleSimRacing'': Sim race driver Daveybird Randle usually has human fingers to match his human body, but when he switches to his slightly more animalistic Cardinal form, he plays this trope straight, especially because of the steering wheel!!
121	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has a few cases of feathers as fingers and vice versa:
122	** Farfetch'd plays this trope straight, wielding a leek as a weapon by holding it in one wing.
123	** Decidueye takes it a step further since it's not only drawing an arrow using its wingtip as a hand, the bow itself is the other wing, the bowstring is a vine-like leaf hanging from its shoulders, and the arrow is one of its own quills.
124	** Inverted with Lugia; instead of having feather fingers, it has finger feathers! This also seems to be the case with Yvetal, though they are more claw-like in comparison.
125	* Psyduck downplays this trope, having what appear to be feather paws instead of feather fingers.
126	* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the ''VisualNovel/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' VideoGame, when Peter Potamus (a purple hippopotamus, for those unfamiliar) attempts to open a cigarette lighter. He fumbles with it for a few seconds, convinces everyone to [[LookBehindYou look at the entrance of the courtroom]], then opens the lighter [[BehindTheBlack the second the camera is off him]].
127	* You might think that, since the animal villagers can send you handwritten letters, this trope would be in full force in ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'', but not quite. In ''New Leaf'', Pete the postman... uh, postpelican mentions how sloppy the animals' handwriting is, and notes that most of them don't have opposable thumbs. When avian characters hand you things most of them make do with their wings (or flippers in penguins' case) just like horses and ungulates work with hooves.
128	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'': The Rito are depicted with primary feathers that flex and grasp like humanoid fingers. Kass in particular clearly plays an accordion with his feathered fingers, while Revali and Teba are shown to be proficient archers -- the latter even gives a feathery thumbs-up in the middle of flight no less. Notably, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'' retcons this element, and instead depicts Rito archers grasping their bows with their talons and nocking and drawing arrows using their beaks.
129	[[/folder]]
130
131	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
132	* Bird characters are by design rare in [[VisualNovel/{{Echo}} the Echo Project]], and when they do appear they tend to play with this:
133	** In ''VisualNovel/TheSmokeRoom'', [[SinisterMinister Caldwell]] the heron is depicted with taloned hands, but still feathered and coloured like an heron's wings.
134	** In ''VisualNovel/GloryHounds'', some bird characters have feathers as fingers while others have taloned hands.
135	* This is apparently the case for the birds in ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'', as in one route it's a plot point that Dr. Shuu has an injury preventing him from using his right wing this way. However, an early translation of the free version had an error which said Shuu was using his left ''hand'' to [[spoiler:cut off the heroine's head with a cleaver at the end of his route]], leading to a minor meme of drawing or photoshopping him with unexplained human arms. That particular instance was changed to "wing" but at various points in the full game, and in the sequel, "hand" is used again. In the manga, everybirdie has feather fingers, so maybe "hand" just means the end of the wing to them.
136	* In ''VisualNovel/LandsOfFire'', bird characters tend to have feathered hands, albeit distinct from the wings (note they are the same limbs).
137	* In ''VisualNovel/MinotaurHotel'', P[[spoiler:edro]] the peacock has feathered hands. It's not clear if they are feathers or normal digits covered in feathers, with some sprites implying either.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Web Animation]]
141	* ''WebAnimation/DSBTInsaniT'': Perry can't move the individual feathers, but he can move and flex his wings around like arms.
142	* ''WebAnimation/{{Dreamscape}}'': Will can't move them flexibly, but he can make gestures with his little wings.
143	* The Golden Pheasant in ''WebAnimation/DreamComeTrue'' can move his wings like arms and articulate them like hands.
144	[[/folder]]
145
146	[[folder:Web Comics]]
147	* Played with in ''Webcomic/TheLegendOfAnneBunny'', where equine characters wear special [[http://www.hirezfox.com/km/loab/loab650/d/20041101.html cybergloves]] over their forehooves.
148	* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': Krosp, The King of Cats, has normal cat-like paws with short dewclaws, meaning he can't manipulate that many things that need opposable thumbs or hold that many things without using both paws well, like a normal cat.
149	* Played straight with the birds in ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'', however Catherine Aura's CharacterBlog states that this isn't "really" the case, and is just an artistic decision by Holbrook.
150	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': Blackwing the raven {{Familiar}} rarely manipulates things with his wings ([[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0679.html although it can happen,]] [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1020.html notably with scrolls]]), but he often gestures with them (even while flying), most commonly to [[DeclarativeFinger "raise a finger"]] or point at someone.
151	* In ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'': "Spooky Stuff", the [[ItMakesSenseInContext headless horseman's horse that keeps stalking Benjamin Franklin]] serves him a pretzel using tongs, somehow. The AltText complains that horses can't use tongs.
152	[[/folder]]
153
154	[[folder:Web Original]]
155	* ''Website/{{Neopets}}'': There are multiple avian neopets that appear to use their wings as hands, namely the Lenny and Pteri. Painting them Transparent, which gives them a plastic-looking outer body that reveals their skeleton and internal organs, reveals that [[http://pets.neopets.com/cp/jbbxks69/1/7.png Pteris]] play it straight, having more realistic wings while still being able to hold objects, but [[http://pets.neopets.com/cp/3zv3mbmb/1/7.png Lennies]] [[SubvertedTrope subvert]] it by having actual hands that just ''strongly resemble'' big feathers.
156	* ''Website/{{Serina}}'': The farmerjay evolves a crude grasping mechanism from the alula and a fleshy pad on the wrist of its wing, allowing it to handle its offspring and the snails it instinctively farms for food, a trait shared by nearly all sparrowgulls.
157	[[/folder]]
158
159	[[folder:Western Animation]]
160	%%* Justified with Scratch from ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'', a robotic Rooster created by Dr. Robotnik as one of his henchbots.
161	* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'':
162	** Iago the parrot holds things in his beak and claws while flying, but uses his wings as hands when on the ground. In at least one episode he loses all his feathers and we can see his wings look like mittens, with ''opposable thumbs''. Granted, if you pay attention to the anatomy of the "hand" next time you eat chicken wings, it ''does'' look like a mitten... [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Budgerigar_baby02.jpg sort of]]. But play with the Alula ("thumb") a bit and you'll note the range of motion is very restricted.
163	** Other winged characters, like Thundra the Rainbird and Fatima the thief-turned-harpy, also use their wings as hands whenever they're not flying (despite still looking like wings).
164	* Most of the cast of ''WesternAnimation/{{Birdz}}'' has mostly arm-like wings which they use just like normal arms despite also being capable of flight. Strangely, one episode has them bowling with their feet.
165	* WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck used to have feather fingers with pointed feather tips for fingers, but as his design evolved, he ended up with what were simply feather covered, [[HumanlikeHandAnatomy human-like hands and arms]]. Of course, this doesn't preclude him from developing ''Tail'' FeatherFingers from time to time.
166	** In ''WesternAnimation/{{Mickey Mouse\|2013}}'', Donald, Daisy, and the other ducks have armlike wings with pointed feather tips for fingers.
167	* On ''WesternAnimation/FishHooks'', the characters' fins actually change shape between semi-normal fins and hands.
168	%%* ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'': Coco carries things in her beak and feet, and nearly all imaginary friends manage to make the best of their [[BizarreAlienBiology bizarre anatomy]].
169	* Franklin and his friend's teacher Mr. Owl has these on ''Literature/{{Franklin}}'', which makes sense, as it would be difficult to write on a chalkboard with chalk, etc., without these.
170	* Dr. Zoidberg on ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' is a lobster-like alien with claws for "hands". Generally he's about as clumsy as you'd expect, occasionally even snapping things he's trying to hold in two. He does manage to write without too much trouble, and in a couple instances actually ''holds a needle and sutures a wound''. That's probably just RuleOfFunny or simply years of practice. (If you had pincers all your life, you'd pick up a few tricks over time.)
171	%%* ''WesternAnimation/IAmNotAnAnimal'' is a British animation about a bunch of superintelligent animals who are released from a research facility. The nominally smartest of them, a horse, is mortified that he can't put on his pants by himself now he's outside the research facility. He uses magnets on his hooves to hold knives and forks, and the sparrow somehow attaches plastic fingers on sticks to his wings to allow him to type and play keyboard.
172	%%* Quack Quack the duck from ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'' has arms which also work as wings.
173	* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'':
174	** Mostly averted with the Road Runner: he carries things with his feet instead of his wings, but he holds signs in his wing as if it were a hand.
175	** A variant with WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck and fellow Looney Tunes characters Foghorn Leghorn (a rooster) and Tweety (a male canary) -- all three have wings that are basically just arms and hands when not flying. The former two are also sometimes capable of flying with them, something both of them have demonstrated on occasions. Daffy even migrated a couple times. Their ability to fly is very much dependent on the story demands of whatever they're doing at the time. In the more recent ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow Looney Tunes Show]]'', for example, Daffy is unable to swim ''or'' fly, making Porky question whether he's really a duck at all. Tweety, on the other hand, is always shown to be capable of flying. Tweety's wings are shown as regular wings when he flies and Daffy's wings are shown as wings with the classic feather fingers when he flies.
176	* ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'':
177	** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'': Pluma and Ruff, a pair of lightly anthropomorphic birds, use the ends of their wings as humanlike hands, although their ability to shapeshift makes it unclear if it's just a cartoon shortcut or if they're actually turning their wings into hands.
178	** ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
179	*** A pegasus's wings, when not used for flying, function similarly to a thumbless hand, in that they can manipulate objects (like opening a saddlebag) or support body weight (the rather odd "wing push-ups" some pegasi were seen doing in "Hurricane Fluttershy"), but can't seem to actually grasp things unless they wrap nearly an entire wing around it. Later seasons do this more extensively, so much as to include actions similar to hand gestures.
180	*** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E7NewbieDash Newbie Dash]]" (where pegasi manipulate things with their wings even more often than usual) actually contains a justification (also seen before in "Read It and Weep"): at one point, Rainbow Dash is zapped by a thundercloud with XRaySparks in effect, showing a good view of her (presumably pegasus-normal) skeleton -- which clearly shows her wings' skeleton not as a birdlike modified arm, but as four separate, jointed finger-like structures stretching from her spine to her wingtips, which is as good an explanation as any for why this trope is in effect.
181	*** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS7E7ParentalGlideance Parental Glidance]]" has some particularly extreme examples of this, even by the show's normal use of this trope, with pegasi using their feathers for everything from plugging their ears to counting out points, as well as "shaking wings" or doing a "[[{{Facepalm}} face-wing]]".
182	%%* In ''Peep and the Big Wide World'', most of the major characters don't even have visible forelimbs. So they hold things in their beaks (like actual birds). Chirp does have visible wings but she uses them mostly to gesticulate.
183	* Downplayed in ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall'', where Beatrice (a talking bluebird) frequently gestures with her wings as if they were arms [[spoiler:(probably out of habit, since she used to be human)]], but never tries to use them as hands. When she picks things up and moves them around she uses her beak.
184	* Krakia from ''WesternAnimation/PuppyInMyPocketAdventuresInPocketville'' (and to a lesser extent other birds) often uses her wings to grab things as opposed to her beak or feet. When she raises her wings to gesture they even resemble human hands.
185	* Mordecai and Margaret from ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'', a blue jay and cardinal respectively, have these. The two are never shown flying and are basically treated as human in all but appearance.
186	* Used in one of ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'''s shorts parodying the Muppet Show and the Muppet Babies. When the murderer (who happens to be Skooter dressed up as his homicidal sister, Skeeter, to seek bloody vengeance on the other muppets after they drowned her when they were baby muppets and kept it a secret throughout their lives) corners and is ready to kill the remaining muppets Kermit and Miss Piggy, Carmilla the chicken (Gonzo's love interest before he was killed off first) threatens him with a drawn bow and arrow, prompting the incredulous Skooter to call out on this trope: "You can't shoot me! Chickens don't even have fingers!" (is shot dead).
187	* British series ''Romuald the Reindeer'' has an odd variant. The reindeer are civilized (even wearing clothes) but quadrupedal, wearing shoes on all four hooves. They instead use their ''antlers'' for grasping and fine manipulation.
188	* Unlike the above example, Sally the fish on ''WesternAnimation/ScaredySquirrel'' uses her fins straight, without them changing shape or being hand-like in nature.
189	* Downplayed in ''WesternAnimation/SplashAndBubbles''. The characters do sometimes use their fins as humans would use their hands, such as gesturing, waving, and picking up objects, but more often they just use their mouths to pick up objects and always use their faces to point, not their fins. Bubbles uses this trope the most, probably because of the size and placement of her fins compared to the others.
190	* ''WesternAnimation/WorkItOutWombats'': [=JunJun=] and his family are eagles who use their feathers/wings as hands. They're also not really shown flying.
191	[[/folder]]
192
193	!!!Sudden Thumbs Variant Examples:
194
195	[[folder:Advertising]]
196	* The Cravendale milk "Thumbcats" adverts have cats with thumbs. They kidnap milkmen and want to steal our Cravendale.
197	[[/folder]]
198
199	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
200	* Played with in ''Manga/ChisSweetHome'' and ''Chi's New Address'' with the cats. Normal shots of their paws don't show any thumbs, but thumbs show up in close-up shots and when they're trying to catch or grasp something. The cats in this anime and manga use their paws like cats normally use their paws rather than like human hands.
201	[[/folder]]
202
203	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
204	* Early ''Peanuts'' strips do this for Snoopy (when he was drawn as a more realistic dog), but eventually he was just given HumanlikeHandAnatomy.
205	[[/folder]]
206
207	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
208	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994''.
209	** Zazu sometimes gestures with his wings, which sometimes become hand-like, but at least he doesn't pick anything up with them. The lions use their dewclaws as thumbs, sometimes using them as hands. This is most obvious with Scar, as seen when he's tormenting a mouse (he even raises his pinky!) and in his VillainSong. The animators said that they tried to avoid having the lions make hand-like gestures with their paws, aside from Scar (because he's more of a ham).
210	** Timon just flat-out uses HumanlikeHandAnatomy instead. Meerkats in real life have very long, black claws at the ends of their stubby beige paws, so the animators gave Timon perfectly humanoid hands with black fingers to represent these. He pretty much always walks upright; from the waist up he uses his hands like a human would, both grasping and gesturing often.
211	* Cats in ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'' have normal cat paws without thumbs when when walking on all fours or otherwise not using them as hands, but gain thumbs when they are using their paws like hands. [[https://twitter.com/LayneTweets/status/916667112717996033 For example.]]
212	* Lucifer the cat from ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'' normally has paws without thumbs, but when he is trying to grasp something or catch mice, he gains thumbs.
213	* Otis and the other cows from ''WesternAnimation/{{Barnyard}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/BackAtTheBarnyard'' have real-looking front hooves when masquerading as ordinary cows in front of the farmer, but change into prehensile black mitts with thumbs when bipedal.
214	[[/folder]]
215
216	[[folder:Web Comics]]
217	* An odd case in ''Webcomic/{{Melonpool}}'': Sam T. Dogg is a telegraphic dog with no thumbs for most of webcomic with funny jokes, but suddenly had thumbs at one point with lampshading about lack of such in the past.
218	[[/folder]]
219
220	[[folder: Web Animation]]
221	* ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends'': A sudden fingers example. The characters are mostly animals with paws (in this case, mitten shaped hands). But they can inexplicably gain FourFingeredHands to hold things or make certain expressions. Lumpy, a moose, takes this a step further by having humanoid toes in one episode.
222	[[/folder]]
223
224	[[folder:Western Animation]]
225	%%* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'': With the show taking place in a world of FunnyAnimals, all the ducks (and everybody else, for that matter) have arms and hands.
226	* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' sometimes did this, especially in the earliest cartoons. He normally walks around on all fours, with very dog-like paws, but when a zany scheme is involved, he stands up on his hind legs with no difficulty, and thumbs mysteriously appear on his front paws.
227	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Brian the Dog is perfectly canine in every respect (other than speech and bipedal movement), but he still has hands with thumbs -- but these turn to normal front paws without thumbs when sitting on the floor on all fours like a dog.
228	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'':
229	** Rita has hands with thumbs when she's on two legs or using them like human hands (i.e., to gesture, grab, or grasp something), but these turn to normal front paws without thumbs when she's on four legs.
230	** Same thing occurs with the other cats from ''Animaniacs'' and ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'', but this is averted with the Warner Sibs in the few instances that they're standing on four legs. They not only retain their thumbs when they're on four legs, their hands still look like hands. That said, since we don't actually know [[CartoonCreature what sort of creatures]] the Warner siblings ''are'', this could be perfectly natural for them.
231	* In ''WesternAnimation/CatDog'', the titular duo's hands look like paws when walking on all-fours.
232	* Pooh and Tigger from ''Franchise/WinnieThePooh'' have FingerlessHands with thumbs that appear when they grasp something or gesture.
233	* Thumbs sometimes appear on the paws of WesternAnimation/PlutoThePup, WesternAnimation/{{Figaro}}, and other "[[NearlyNormalAnimal non-anthro]]" WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts dogs and cats when they grasp something or gesture, but sometimes they don't.
234	* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'': Perry the Platypus has stylized paws with no visible fingers while in his mindless pet guise, but human-like hands while on secret agent duty.
235	* ''WesternAnimation/PuppyInMyPocketAdventuresInPocketville'' is also known for this, with several of the animal characters usually having normal paws but gain thumbs and more dexterity in their paws when lifting their paws up, gesturing, or grasping things.
236	* ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'': In the episode "We've Got Fleas", the title character and his friends become were-animals. In close-ups of their hands, they're still hands (albeit covered in fur), while in long shots, they're thumbless paws.
237	* Standard for birds in ''WesternAnimation/AlfredJKwak'', unless they're holding something or wearing shirts. The titular Alfred's wings shift between clear hands and stump wings whenever the situation calls for it (the default being stump wing until he needs to grab something), and the same happens to other waterfowls, Ollie the stork, and Dolf in his teen design where he had clear wings instead of clear hands.
238	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': Not only can the fish use their fins as hands, but they and other fingerless creatures such as sea stars, cephalopods and crustaceans can develop hands if need be.
239	[[/folder]]

Context Main / FeatherFingers