"The origin of birds has historically been a contentious topic within evolutionary biology. However, most researchers now support the view that birds are a group of theropod dinosaurs that evolved during the Mesozoic Era.

A close relationship between birds and dinosaurs was first proposed in the nineteenth century after the discovery of the primitive bird Archaeopteryx in Germany. Birds share many unique skeletal features with dinosaurs.[1] Moreover, fossils of more than twenty species of dinosaur have been collected which preserve feathers. There are even very small dinosaurs, such as Microraptor and Anchiornis, which have long, vaned, arm and leg feathers forming wings. The Jurassic basal avialan Pedopenna also shows these long foot feathers. Witmer (2009) has concluded that this evidence is sufficient to demonstrate that avian evolution went through a four-winged stage."

Taken from Wikipedia

I thought about all of this today as I sat outside on the back deck listening and watching the antics of the newly returned robins.
I think they're a little skeptical of walking on the lawn yet so they scold me from the trees.
Perhaps the ground isn't thawed quite enough yet for the worms to come up and become dinner for the only birds I know of that eat them - robins.
It's hard to imagine that these small winged, feathered creatures ancestors date back to the dinosaur age.
Try to imagine that next time you're in a museum standing next to a giant skeleton of one of them.



Sing little dinosaur, sing!