Birds are just weird dinosaurs
Did you know that you were throwing seeds and breadcrumbs to the descendants of the dinosaurs? Yes, you absolutely are! While the vast majority of dinosaurs disappeared during the 5th extinction, a small group survived: the avian dinosaurs, also known as birds. Tweet!
Over the past fifty years, our views on dinosaurs have been turned upside down by new discoveries. As a result, more and more species are considered to have been warm-blooded, unlike modern reptiles. Experts have also realised that many dinosaur species were covered in hair or feathers, which are more effective than scales at protecting the bearer from the cold.
The evolutionary transition from feathered dinosaurs to birds took place around 150 million years ago. The earliest birds, which evolved from the theropods - a group of carnivorous dinosaurs - included Archaeopteryx in Europe and Confuciusornis in China.
This explains why the T-Rex is genetically closer to a sparrow than to a crocodile.
Some dinosaurs were covered in feathers. We can imagine velociraptors proudly displaying flamboyant plumage that would not have been out of place at the Rio carnival!
Did you know?
There are approximately 10,000 species of birds today. They have colonised every environment on the planet, except for the deep oceans.