The Dinosaur/Bird Connection
How (and when) did dinosaurs evolve into birds? What were the first feathered dinosaurs? And how did paleontologists manage to piece together the dinosaur/bird puzzle?
In the Mesozoic Era, there wasn't just one "missing link" that connected dinosaurs and birds, but dozens of them: small, feathered theropods that showed a tantalizing mixture of dinosaur and bird features. Here's what we know about these "dino-birds," as they're sometimes called.
There are two theories about how feathered dinosaurs started to fly, which can be loosely classified as "bottom up" and "top down." Here's a look at the evidence for and against each, and the current state of thinking among paleontologists.
A famous fossil in China produced the first indisputable evidence of feathered dinosaurs. Here's how Sinosauropteryx was found, and what it implies for the evolution of birds from dinosaurs.
A good overview of dinosaur/bird theory, from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
An article about the first beaked bird, from the Journal of Dinosaur Paleontology.
An interesting development about small dinosaurs and their relationship to birds.
The discovery of a microraptor with four wings shakes up theories of bird evolution.
