they are known...as our...feathered friends ( Archived) (15)

I placed a bird bath at the front of my property a few years ago
I have a spot where I sit, partially screened by a shrub, and love watching birds of all kinds coming down to have a drink and a splash
Especially late afternoon and into the evening, at the end of long hot days like we have been experiencing over recent months.
Magpies, parrots, doves, Noisy Miners, kookaburras, butcher birds, wattle birds (all native species) and Indian Mynas which are introduced.
I try to remember to fill the bath with fresh water daily and find this is much appreciated

Scientists now agree that birds alive today are living dinosaurs, directly descended from theropods (carnivorous dinosaurs that walked on two legs).

Ask your average paleontologist who is familiar with the phylogeny of vertebrates and they will probably tell you that yes, birds (avians) are dinosaurs. Using proper terminology, birds are avian dinosaurs; other dinosaurs are non-avian dinosaurs, and (strange as it may sound) birds are technically considered reptiles.

While all birds are descended from dinosaurs, the mysterious cassowary is thought to be more similar to ancient dinosaurs than most other birds. Large bodied with fierce claws, these flightless birds also have casques, a helmet-like structure atop the head, which many dinosaurs are believed to have had.