"FEATHERED DINOSAURS"
Although the relationship between theropod dinosaurs and birds was recognized by Thomas Huxley over a century ago, this theory has not received widespread acceptance until quite recently. Spectacular new fossils and new methods and techniques allow us to investigate, not just the problem of bird origins, but the order of assembly of modern bird attributes. Our results show that many of the characteristics that we use to define birds- like feathers, hollow bones, nest brooding and wish bones, have histories that significantly predate the origin of this group. This has broad implications not only for bird attributes (like the origin of flight) but for the way that we perceive and understand non-avian dinosaurs.