I am not sure if it is snobbery in favor of modern species, but it seems that the scientific community recognizes birds as having evolved from dinosaurs, but not actually BEING dinosaurs.
As there are a vast array of dinosaur species out there, flapping, swimming, crawling, running, jumping, lumping and otherwise dominating the landscape for many million years. Archeaopteryx were a dinosaur that could be called birds, even though they had teeth.
There are a great many articles about the creatures, which lean one way or another, but leaning toward being merely an "evolutionary link" rather than continuation:
www.livescience.com
Birds themselves have evolved to incredibly dimorphic forms, from flappy, tubby penguins to gangly flamingos to tiny hummingbirds. There are flightless birds, diving birds, soaring birds, as different from each other as the archeaopteryx is from other dinosaurs, but noone questions they are all birds.
So ARE birds dinosaurs? I'm interested in the opinions of my fellow mammals.
Griff
As there are a vast array of dinosaur species out there, flapping, swimming, crawling, running, jumping, lumping and otherwise dominating the landscape for many million years. Archeaopteryx were a dinosaur that could be called birds, even though they had teeth.
There are a great many articles about the creatures, which lean one way or another, but leaning toward being merely an "evolutionary link" rather than continuation:

Archaeopteryx: The Transitional Fossil
Archaeopteryx was an evolutionary link between non-avian dinosaurs and birds. Scientists long thought Archaeopteryx was the first bird, but recent discoveries have made them rethink that status.

So ARE birds dinosaurs? I'm interested in the opinions of my fellow mammals.
Griff