by Brenda Nelson

Created on: March 25, 2009   Last Updated: April 17, 2009

Not all dinosaurs have obvious similarities to birds, but for those that do, the similarities are not only frightening, but suggest that dinosaurs evolved into modern day birds. While many scientists now support this theory, creationists are pushing hard against it. Either way, the similarities remain, and many are listed below.

Legs and Feet

The legs and feet of bipedal dinosaurs closely resemble that of a bird, three toes forward, one toe back. Some fossilized dinosaur tracks resemble exactly, with the exception of size, the tracks of an Emu. Both dinosaurs and birds have legs with ankles that are about midway up the leg, and our equivalent of a knee, is even higher.

Bipedal

Although some dinosaurs walked on all fours, many stood on their two hind legs. With a small stretch of the imagination we can see a connection between any bipedal dinosaur and an ostrich or emu.

Bones

Recent evidence has indicated the the bones of some dinosaurs were hollow, much like those of a bird. These lightweight bones would lend themselves not only to flight, but in dinosaurs were used for breathing purposes too. In order for dinosaurs to grow as big as they did, they needed to process more oxygen, this was done with the help of air sacks in their bones. Birds process more oxygen too, but for the purposes of flying faster, higher, or diving deeper.

Breathing

Birds and dinosaurs share a unique style of breathing, which is quite the way humans and other animals breathe. Birds have lungs that do not expand and collapse as ours do. One cannot watch a bird breathe as you can watch a cat or dog, by seeing the chest expand and collapse. Instead birds used a system of air sacks to pump air through the lungs. These same features have been indicated on a newly discovered species of dinosaur called Aerosteon riocoloradensis.

Eggs

It is debatable if the chicken came first, or the egg, except to say that dinosaurs laid eggs long before chickens were even in existance. Many dinosaurs have also been shown to make nests and rear their young. Most birds bring food and feed their young, although not all do. Chickens, for example, do not bring food to their young. It is likely that some dinosaurs fed their young and others did not.

Keeled Sternum

This is the bone at the front of the chest that attaches to the flight muscles in birds. Some dinosaurs have been shown to have a similar shaped sternum.

Claws

Some birds, such as the ostrich, emu, and turacos have primitive claws on their wings, these very much resemble

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