Parrot Dinosaur

[d_msparkles]

I was doing a little reading this weekend about how parrots came to be, and stumbled upon this in my digging:
Front view of Psittacosaurus - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

What a hilariously awkward yet adorable dino! Other articles have said they were "turkey sized", which honestly isn't far off from some of the larger birds today.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

What a cutie!

 

[TikiMyn]

Ahw what a sweet looking one!

 

[LSA]

I remember the very first bird xray I saw.
My little baby was a dinosaur!

 

[Peachfaced]

They've found some smaller dinos with feathers on their tails, too. They weren't your typical feathers, I believe they were missing the quill/rachis portion. I love reading about dinosaurs. There's just so much we still don't know!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Keeping with the dino topic...If anyone is interested: /Paleontology: Theropod Dinosaurs and the Origin of Birds | Coursera
It's free.

 

[d_msparkles]

I was trying to get to the root of how birds evolved from dinosaurs*, if dinos went extinct. Turns out (at least the scientists think) the little bird dinos were evolving already, and because they were comparatively small they evolved faster & adapted quickly before said cataclysmic event occurred. So they survived!

*I understand not everyone believes in evolution, but I do, so I am representing my opinion only here.

 

[d_msparkles]

Keeping with the dino topic...If anyone is interested: /Paleontology: Theropod Dinosaurs and the Origin of Birds | Coursera
It's free.

Just what my sweetie wants--for me to spend more time reading & spouting off random facts about birds! (seriously, that looks awesome)

 

[iamwhoiam]

Just what my sweetie wants--for me to spend more time reading & spouting off random facts about birds! (seriously, that looks awesome)

I started the course but didn't finish so I am going to sign up for the new session.