Scientists since 1870 have speculated that birds descended from dinosaurs. In the Smithsonian Magazine article Dinosaurs’ Living Descendants, Richard Stone writes that there was a lack of evidence until a poor Chinese farmer discovered a fossilized skeleton with a birdlike skull, a long tail and impressions of feather-like structures. This discovery of bird-like dinosaurs helped paleontologists fill in blanks in the fossil record, and have convinced many, that birds descended from dinosaurs.

Which makes me wonder if these dinosaurs were as beautiful as some of the chickens here. The feathers have so many subtle colors, and some have wild patterns that dazzle the eye

• Origin of Birds – Wikipedia
• Birds: The Late Evolution of Dinosaurs – Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
• The Life of Birds: Evolution – PBS
• Birds and dinosaurs – one of the great fossil connections – The Guardian
• ScienceShot: When Did Feathered Dinosaurs Become Birds? – Sciencemag.org