Birds are all that remain today of the dinosaurs.
The history of their emergence from the mighty theropod dinosaur lineage is told through millennia of fossils, and evidence of this ancestry is apparent in their living bodies today.
The italicised quotation comes from an excellent book that I am currently reading; its details will be included in this little series’ finale.
The pictured individual was the stealthy hunter in #2 of this series, all of which is the fruit of a New Year’s Day walk around Lake Monger.
All photos are copyright Doug Spencer; this one was taken on Lake Monger’s southern shore at 5.58 pm.