Did you know dinosaurs are not all gone? For a long time, scientists have believed that a huge meteor crashed into the earth 66 million years ago and wiped out all the dinosaurs. But then, they discovered a special

Archaeopteryx dinosaur called Archaeopteryx, and everything changed!

Archaeopteryx lived about 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period. It was small, about the size of a raven, and had dinosaur features like sharp teeth, three clawed fingers, and a long tail. But guess what— it also had feathers, just like birds do!

Feathers are something only birds have. If a dinosaur had feathers, that means some dinosaurs( in a group called Therapods) are actually ancestors of modern birds! Therapods include famous dinosaurs like T. Rex, Spinosaurus and Velociraptor.

Some birds today still have dinosaur traits. For example, the Hoatzin is a bird from South America. Baby Hoatzins have claws on their wings! When they fall out of their tree nests, they use their claws to climb back up, just like little dinosaurs might have done. Imagine ancient Theropods climbing trees, learning how to glide and fly!

There are other things birds and dinosaurs share, too. Birds have special lungs with air sacs, and hollow bones. These help birds fly by making their bodies light and giving them lots of energy.

Fossils show that dinosaurs also had a similar system. Hollow bones would’ ve let them live more energetic lives, reduce their weight so they could grow as big as they did, and also help them control the temperature in their big bodies!

So, next time you hear a bird singing outside your window, remember: dinosaurs are still all around us!

Hoatzin

It’ s the

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www. OfficialKidsMag. com • December 2025 • 23