Are birds dinosaurs?

zbeckabee

Yup. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/avians.html Apr 22 06, 7:37 AM

xfacilitatorx

The physiology of the bird skull leads many paleontologists to believe that they are direct descendants of the big guys. Many Dinosaurs nasal passages lead up to and around the brain as a cooling device. Many birds today have this unique design. If you Google "Bird Dinosaur Connection" you will see volumes of info. Apr 22 06, 7:41 AM

Arpeggionist

Birds descend from a branch of reptiles called diapsids, a branch that included many prehistoric creatures, including dinosaurs. Dinosaurs themselves are of two orders - saurischians (lizard-hipped) and ornithischians (bird-hipped). In the evolutionary family tree, I think it would be more accurate to call modern birds great-great-grandnephews of dinosaurs. There were birds around at the time of the dinosaurs, and when whatever that thing was that hit the Earth 65 million years ago, those branches of birds which didn't go extinct (the dinosaurs all did) flourished. For a time after the dinosaurs, birds were set to take over the earth. Apr 23 06, 12:11 AM