ix, 460 pages : 29 cm

"Dinosaurs of the Air: The Evolution and Loss of Flight in Dinosaurs and Birds presents the most recent work of renowned evolutionary scientist and dinosaur illustrator Gregory Paul. Dinosaurs of the Air synthesizes the growing body of evidence which suggests that modern-day birds have evolved from theropod dinosaurs of prehistoric times. Paul argues provocatively for the idea that the ancestor-descendant relationship between the dinosaurs and birds can on occasion be reversed, and that many dinosaurs were secondarily flightless descendants of creatures we would regard as birds."--Jacket

Includes bibliographical references (pages 411-436) and index

A history -- The science of bird origins -- Skulls -- Skeletons -- Feathers and other fluff -- The beginnings of flight : from the ground up or from the trees down -- The early evolution of flight -- The loss of flight -- The lifestyle of A history -- The science of bird origins -- Skulls -- Skeletons -- Feathers and other fluff -- The beginnings of flight : from the ground up or from the trees down -- The early evolution of flight -- The loss of flight -- The lifestyle of the urvogel -- Looking for the true bird ancestor -- Were some dinosaurs also neoflightless birds -- A look at the phylogenetics of predatory dinosaurs -- The mesozoic -- The great extinction -- The cenozoic : the age of neornithines

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