Image 1 is the Stripe Crested Dragon or Banji long from the early Cretaceous China. This is a Poser render. Image 2 and 3 is the Roost Robber or Buitreraptor gonzalezorum from 90 million years ago South America. Image 2 is Poser and image 3 is a DAZ Studio render. Image 4 is a fossil skeleton of the Buitreraptor which leads to the paragraphs below if you are interested. Being the dino nerd that I am I wanted to expand on this particular genus/species. This particular species has had a number of speculative depictions ranging from very bird like, such as Ken's excellent model, to something in between, and to something more "dino" looking with feathers look such as the Velociraptor. This particular "raptor" is considerably smaller than even the Velociraptor so a very bird like appearance may well be the case. For me personally, the question is more about it having the beak/bill or if it had a more fleshy snout like a Deinonychus or Velociraptor. Re-examining the snout of the fossil find shows only nostril holes on the snout. Many dinosaurs have fenestra (skull holes) that extend to the front of the snout. The lack of holes on the Buitreraptor may indicate the front was covered with keratin like a bird's beak. Only well preserved fossil finds with skin impressions can solve this question. Given this I think Ken's depiction is an excellent and plausible example of an evolving and maybe even transitional mode of a genus or species. #prehistoric #dinosaur #prehistoricbird #BirdsoftheMesozoic #BirdsoftheMesozoic