Reuters) - A dinosaur bird that lived 147 million years ago had a brain similar to a modern eagle or parrot and was equipped to fly, scientists said on Wednesday. Archaeopteryx is the most ancient bird known. It had the bony tail and teeth of a dinosaur and the feathers and wings of a bird but its flying ability has never been proven. But researchers in the United States and Britain have used sophisticated computer imaging of the braincase from a fossil of Archaeopteryx found in Germany in 1861 to show that the creature had all the characteristics and brain power to conquer the skies.

"Archaeopteryx's brain, its senses and its ear turned out to be surprisingly more bird-like than we thought," Dr Angela Milner, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London, said in an interview.


"It is regarded as the most primitive bird we know and its skeleton is almost all dinosaur except that it has feathers and wings, so we were surprised that its brain was already quite an advanced bird-like brain."


The particular shape of the brain, its inner ear which is linked to balance, and its sensory ability have convinced scientists it was capable of flying.


"It had everything in place in its neurosensory functions and structures that suggest it was well-equipped to fly," Milner added.

Full Article

That was published today??

I knew that when i was 4! Thought it was common knowledge.