[Proud_texan]

I don't have a dog in this hunt but I had a semi-interest in Ostriches a while back (hehe, nah, I didn't get in on the Ostrich raising fad) and that instead of "All experts agree that birds are related to theropod dinosaurs" there didn't seem to be one mind on the subject at all.

For instance I read that some experts thought that bird characteristics are also shared with crocodiles.

But this was a while back, do all experts now agree on this issue or is the writer stretching a point?

[RightWingAtheist]

Yes, crocodilians are the closest living relatives of today's birds. Crocodiles evolved directly from thecodont ancestors, as did dinosaurs. The dispute over avian evolution stems over whether birds evolved directly from dinosaurs, or if they simply share a common thecodont ancestor.