Re: Greg Paul is right (again); or "Archie's not a birdy"... but Jeholornis is (not!)

[GSP1954@aol.com]

In a message dated 8/5/11 2:17:33 PM, skeletaldrawing@gmail.com writes:

<< No, Jeholornis isn't a bird.  Niether are enantiornithines.  None of

them are near the crown.  They're just protobirds which better

approximate actual birds as they approach the crown group. >>

Oh, piddle paddle. If it's a dinosaur with wings (or whose ancestor had 
them) and a short tail its a bird. Sapeornis, Confuciusornis, Ichthyornis and 
Hesperornis were all boids. Whether they were in Aves is another matter, but 
they were birds. If it looks like a bird then its a bird. So I'll be damned 
if I am not going to call them protobirds that being appropriate for long 
tailed fliers and long tailed neoflightless taxa. 

Now usually when a subject drifts away from the original topic I object to 
the heading retaining the same title. But for some reason I cannot quite put 
my finger on I like that this particular subject heading has not changed. 
Exactly why eludes me but its is such a superb title. May it enjoy a long 
life. 

GSPaul 

 

</HTML>