Coprophagy addendum

[StephanPickering@cs.com]

For those interested in how field studies of extant theropods can be the basis for interesting extrapolations as to the metabolisms, diets, and ecomorphologies of dromaeosaurs and tyrannosaurs, e.g., the collobrative work of Juan Jose Negro featured in this week's Nature is, indeed, a foundation. Eventually, it may be that Neophron and Gypaetus (the "bearded vulture") are synonymous genera, and already the DNA evidence seems to point in this direction. Juan Jose Negro's research team's investigations of carotenoids, and that of C.J. Brown, Joan Bertran, and Antoni Margalida on Gypaetus,  can be utilized to formulate a framework of grasping the complex behaviour systems of dromaeosaurs and related feathered taxa. 
I would recommend these as future vortexes of discussion on the DML:
J.J. Negro & J.M. Grande, 2001. Territorial signalling: a new hypothesis to explain frequent copulation in raptorial birds. Animal Behaviour 62(4):803-809
J.J. Negro, Antoni Margalida,  Fernando Hiraldo, R. Heredia, 1999. The function of the cosmetic coloration of bearded vultures: when art imitates life. Animal Behaviour 58:F14-F17
The vultures -- an overlooked group of dinosaur "scavengers" (they often kill their prey) -- are fascinating theropods, competing with mammalian hyaenids (whose social group compositions are logical candidates for how cohesiveness was maintained among dromaeosaur "packs").